iiiiili 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


Digitized  by  tlie  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2007  witli  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcli  ive.org/details/agriculturaleducOObriciala 


AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION 
FOR  TEACHERS 


BY 

GARLAND  ARMOR  BRICKER,  B.  Ped.,  M.A. 

ASSISTANT  PROFESSOR  OF  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION 

COLLEGES   OF  EDUCATION  AND  AGRICULTURE,  OHIO   STATE   UNIVERSITY 

AT7TB0K  OF   "  THE   TEACHING   OF  AGRICULTURE   IN   THE   HIGH   SCHOOL " 

AND   "  SOLVING   THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROBLEM  " 

MANAGING  EDITOR  OF   "THE   RURAL  EDUCATOR" 


AMERICAN  BOOK  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI  CHICAGO 


51 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
GARLAND  ARMOR  BRICKER. 
Copyright,  1914,  in  Great  Britain. 

bsickek's  agric.  eodc 
w.  p.  I 


TO  MY  WIFE 

MABEL  McClelland  bricker 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Rise  of  Popular  Education  in  Agriculture  ....  7 

II.  The  Problem  of  Intensive  Agriculture 10 

III.  A  Popular  Scientific  Agriculture 17 

IV.  The  Qualifications  of  the  Teacher  of  Agriculture  27 
V.  The  Preparation  of  Teachers  to  Teach  Agriculture  32 

VI.  Agencies  for  the  Preparation  of  Teachers 36 

VII.  Elementary  Agriculture  and  Nature  Study 62 

VIII.  What  is  Elementary  Agriculture? 75 

IX.  Agricx:[lture  as  a  Means  of  Education 80 

X.  Pedagogical  Problems  Involved  in  the  Teaching  of 

Elementary  Agriculture 93 

XI.  The  Administration  and  Teaching  of  School  Agri- 
culture    106 

XII.  The   Cooperative   Use    of  Apparatus,   Equipment, 

AND  Illustrative  Material 124 

XIII.  The  Agricultural  Demonstration  Field  and  Home 

Projects 130 

XIV.  Boys'  and  Girls'  Agricultural  Clubs 154 


PREFACE 

The  March  winds  have  passed  in  agricultural  edu- 
cation. The  sudden  sallies  of  transient  flurries  with 
their  bluster  are  now  rapidly  giving  way  to  the  quieter 
days  of  summer.  A  more  sober  purpose  is  vitalizing 
and  systematizing  the  work  of  agricultural  teaching, 
and  with  each  passing  year  less  emphasis  is  being 
placed  on  exploitive  methods. 

Prejudice,  inertia,  and  misgivings  are  everywhere 
gradually  yielding  place  to  the  new  rural  education. 
Country  communities  are  demanding  that  their  schools 
educate  in  terms  of  rural  life;  normal  schools  are 
rapidly  instituting  and  perfecting  departments  for 
the  training  of  rural  teachers;  and  the  colleges  are 
offering  courses  in  rural  leadership,  and  in  the  teach- 
ing of  agriculture,  home  economics,  and  farm  manual 
training.  Tens  of  thousands  of  teachers  have  sud- 
denly become  conscious  of  the  new  demands  that  are 
being  made  on  them.  Not  all  may  take  advantage 
of  the  facilities  offered  by  the  higher  institutions  of 
learning,  while  many  who  take  brief  courses  in  sum- 
mer sessions  feel  the  need  of  keeping  in  constant 
touch  with  the  new  ideas  in  agricultural  education 
along  its  fundamental  lines  of  development. 

Teachers  in  active  service,  as  well  as  prospective 

5 


6  PREFACE 

teachers  in  training,  it  is  hoped,  will  profit  by  the 
reading  and  study  of  this  book,  in  which  are  recorded 
the  knowledge  and  wisdom  gleaned  from  a  decade  of 
experience,  observation,  and  study.  The  book  is  not 
the  final  word  on  agricultural  education,  but  may  be 
considered  a  handbook  for  the  teacher,  and  a  guide- 
book for  the  district  and  the  county  superintendent 
and  the  supervisor  of  rural  or  agricultural  education. 
The  thanks  of  the  author  are  due  Dr.  A.  C.  True, 
Director  of  the  U.  S.  Office  of  Experiment  Stations;  to 
H.  C.  Lane,  SpeciaHst  in  Agricultural  Education  of  the 
same  office;  and  to  Dean  W.  W.  Boyd,  of  the  College 
of  Education  at  the  Ohio  State  University,  for  helpful 
criticisms  and  suggestions  on  section  6  of  Chapter  VI; 
also,  to  Dr.  B.  M.  Davis,  Professor  of  Agricultural 
Education  at  Miami  University;  and  to  Prof.  A.  W. 
Nolan,  Assistant  Professor  of  Agricultural  Extension, 
at  the  University  of  Illinois,  for  the  review  and  com- 
ments on  Chapter  VII. 

G.  A.  B. 


AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR 
TEACHERS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  RISE  OF   POPULAR  EDUCATION 
IN  AGRICULTURE 

Agriculture  is  the  most  recent  of  the  sciences;  and 
through  the  application  of  its  principles  to  the  pro- 
duction of  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  or  to  the  satis- 
fying of  man's  aesthetic  desires,  the  most  ancient  art 
of  agriculture  has  had  a  new  birth.  From  this  grand 
old  industry,  over  forty  millions  of  our  people  daily 
draw  their  wealth  and  inspiration  for  higher  and  better 
living.  Without  this  basic  source  of  wealth,  our  people 
could  not  continue  to  support  our  highly  developed 
Christian  civilization  through  another  year.  To  insure 
the  perpetuity  of  an  intelligent  agriculture  for  the  gen- 
erations of  our  people  who  shall  inherit  and  till  the  God- 
given  acres  of  the  nation  after  we  have  quit  them,  it 
becomes  an  inevitable  duty  of  the  state  to  educate 
her  youth  in  this  wonderful  science  and  noble  art. 

Agriculture,  as  a  school  subject,  has  been  long  in 
coming;  but  some  notion  as  to  how  long  it  will  stay 
with  us  may  be  gained  when  we  reflect  how  long  man- 
kind will  continue  to  draw  its  sustenance  from  the 

7 


8  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

soil.  When  one  considers  that  there  will  be  need  for  a 
greater  quantity  of  agricultural  products  as  the  popula- 
tion of  the  earth  increases,  and  that,  with  the  advance 
of  time,  agricultural  products  may  be  produced  with 
ever  increasing  difficulty,  the  future  importance  of 
this  subject  may  be  more  clearly  understood.  Agri- 
culture "has  come  to  stay,"  and — ^it  may  be  said 
more  truthfully  now  than  ever — into  the  hands  of  the 
teachers  of  the  state  has  been  thrust  its  destiny. 

The  demand  for  popular  education  in  agriculture 
came  suddenly.  Its  rise  and  triumph  have  been  ac- 
complished almost  in  one  decade.  After  half  a  century 
of  propagandism  in  favor  of  popular  education  in  this 
subject  by  the  land-grant  colleges,  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  the  agricultural  experiment 
stations,  and  other  agricultural  organizations,  the  pub- 
lic mind  has  been  placed  in  a  receptive  attitude. 
When  small  beginnings  in  public  school  agriculture  were 
made  in  various  locaUties  over  the  country,  the  people 
took  kindly  to  the  new  undertaking,  or,  at  least,  did 
not  actively  oppose  it.  In  some  communities  a  genuine 
enthusiasm  was  engendered  by  its  introduction  into 
the  school  courses.  From  these  small  beginnings,  the 
enthusiasm  for  the  study  and  teaching  of  elementary 
agriculture  began  to  spread,  gaining  rapidly  in  force 
as  time  went  on.  From  igco  to  1905,  the  tide  rose 
very  rapidly,  and  during  the  following  half-dozen  years 
a  veritable  flood  of  public  sentiment  for  the  teaching  of 
this  branch  in  the  schools  swept  the  country. 


f^^fi  OF  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  9 

The  sudden  impetus  given  to  popular  education  in 
agriculture  has  found  thousands  of  teachers  unpre- 
pared to  teach  the  subject.  Apparently  without  warn- 
ing, laws  have  been  passed  requiring  the  teaching  of 
agriculture  in  both  the  elementary  and  the  high  schools, 
and,  in  several  instances,  teachers  have  been  required 
to  take  examinations  in  this  branch  with  almost  no 
opportunity  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  ordeal. 

Although  teachers  are  unprepared  and  schools  un- 
equipped to  teach  the  elements  of  agriculture,  the 
gigantic  task  must  be  attempted  and  somehow  accom- 
plished. A  few  leaders  have  blazed  the  way,  popular 
clamor  has  rapidly  followed,  and  the  American  school 
teacher  dares  not  turn  backward.  Our  teachers  have 
never  yet  failed  the  nation,  and  never  will.  Tens  of 
thousands  are  wearing  out  their  lives  at  the  post  of 
duty,  and,  as  Little  Peterkin  held  back  the  threatening 
waters  of  a  roaring  sea,  so  they  are  holding  back  the 
black  sea  of  ignorance  from  engulfing  a  people.  The 
American  schoolman  does  not  perform  things  by  halves. 
This  new  agricultural  education  is  to  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  render  greater  service. 

Review  of  Chapter  I 

What  can  you  say  concerning — 

1.  The  importance  of  agriculture  as  a  school  subject? 

2.  The  rise  of  popular  education  in  agriculture? 

3.  The  unpreparedness  of  teachers  to  teach  agriculture? 

4.  The  spirit  with  which  teachers  are  preparing  them- 
selves to  teach  agriculture? 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PROBLEM  OF  INTENSIVE  AGRICULTURE  ^ 

One  reason  why  agriculture  should  be  taught  in  the 
public  schools  is  that,  as  a  nation,  we  must  begin  to 
work  out  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  intensive  agri- 
culture. The  rich  virgin  soil  that  our  fathers,  grand- 
fathers, and  great-grandfathers  first  cultivated  in  Amer- 
ica is  being  rapidly  impoverished.  The  fertility  of  our 
soil  is  being  exploited  just  as  are  our  other  natural 
resources  of  the  forests,  the  mines,  and  the  rivers. 
By  wasteful  and  unscientific  methods  of  farming, 
we  are  preparing  to  transmit  an  impoverished  soil 
to  the  future  inhabitants  of  this  country.  Even  now, 
there  are  many  abandoned  tracts  of  land  that  may  be 
purchased  at  ridiculously  low  prices.  Already  there 
are  agrarian  conditions,  caused  by  an  exhausted  soil, 
that  should  not  exist  within  the  boundaries  of  our 
country.  In  the  past  we  have  been  exploiting  our  soil; 
from  henceforth  we  must  endeavor  to  conserve  its 
fertility  to  the  end  that  the  conditions  of  Ufe  may  be 
ameliorated  for  the  multitudes  of  our  race  that  shall 
inhabit  this  land  after  us. 

We  have  much  to  learn  from  other  nations  in  matters 

^  See  Educational  Review,  Vol.  41,  pp.  359-403,  April,  191 1,  where 
a  portion  of  this  and  the  following  chapter  were  first  published. 

10 


INTENSIVE  AGRICULTURE  ii 

agricultural.  The  Germans,  from  fields  that  have  been 
tilled  for  the  past  thousand  years,  are  able  to  produce 
an  average  yield  of  twenty-eight  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre;  while  we  Americans,  from  a  new  soil  that  has 
been  farmed  only  one  tenth  as  long — about  a  century — 
are  producing  an  average  yield  of  only  fourteen  bushels 
of  wheat  per  acre.  The  Chinese  can  do  still  better 
than  the  Germans.  In  that  ancient  and  crowded  coun- 
try of  China,  the  inhabitants  have  been  driven  to 
find  a  solution  for  the  problem  of  intensive  agriculture; 
and  even  there,  owing  to  a  limited  scientific  knowledge, 
there  has  been  no  complete  and  satisfactory  solution 
of  this  problem.  A  case  has  recently  been  reported  ^ 
of  a  Chinaman,  who,  from  two  and  one  half  acres — 
which,  in  China,  is  considered  a  good  estate — supports 
himself,  his  wife,  ten  children,  one  donkey,  one  cow, 
and  two  pigs.  Can  any  Anglo-Saxon  living  accomplish 
such  a  feat?  Consider  what  an  American  farmer  might 
do  with  a  forty-acre  farm,  if  he  understood  the  science 
and  art  of  agriculture  as  does  the  Chinaman.  He  might 
feed,  clothe,  and  shelter  thirty-two  adults,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  children,  sixteen  donkeys,  sixteen  cows,  and 
thirty- two  pigs, — and  then  have  enough  left  to  spend 
on  improvements  and  pay  the  necessary  taxes.  In 
this  comparison  the  advantage  would  be  on  the  side 
of  the  American,  because  he  would  have  a  better  soil 
and  the  use  of  labor-saving  machinery. 

^  King,  F.  H.:  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  3.    Mrs.  F.  H.  King, 
Madison,  Wis.,  1911. 


12  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

The  American  people  of  the  future  must  either  learn 
the  lesson  of  intensive  agriculture,  or  starve,  or  fight. 
These  three  are  the  only  alternatives.  During  the  past 
history  of  this  nation  our  population  has,  on  an  average, 
doubled  each  twenty-five  years.  The  returns  of  the 
latest  census  show  a  population  of  about  91,000,000, 
for  the  contiguous  North  American  territory.  If  our 
people  continue  thus  to  increase  during  the  next  cen- 
tury, the  United  States  will  have  the  enormous  popula- 
tion of  1,456,000,000  persons  within  her  borders  in 
A.  D.  2010 — and  all  this  multitude  must  be  fed,  clothed, 
and  sheltered  by  the  products  from  the  same  area  that 
we  now  possess,  large  portions  of  which  are  of  doubtful 
value,  and  other  portions  depleted  of  fertiHty.^  By 
our  present  methods  of  agriculture,  it  will  be  impossible 
to  supply  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  average  density 
of  population  will  be  480  persons  to  the  square  mile, 
or  nearly  equal  to  the  most  densely  populated  coun- 
try of  Europe, — and  Belgium  does  not  raise  nearly 
enough  from  her  area  to  feed,  clothe,  and  shelter  her 
people,  but  the  raw  materials  for  doing  this  must 
be  supplied  by  commerce  from  less  densely  populated 
countries.  There  are  no  more  new  lands  to  be  dis- 
covered and  subdued  to  which  our  children's  children 
may  migrate  as  did  our  grandfathers.  The  people  of 
that  future  day  will,  therefore,  be  compelled  to  prac- 

^  In  this  connection  see  what  Dean  Eugene  Davenp)ort  has  to  say 
on  the  same  thought  in  his  Education  for  Efficiency,  pp.  152  et  seq. 
D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston,  19 10. 


INTENSIVE  AGRICULTURE  13 

tice  successfully  an  intensive  agriculture,  or  starve, 
or  wage  a  war  of  extermination  upon  other  races  of 
mankind  in  order  to  secure  additional  areas  from  which 
to  subsist. 

It  may  be  argued  that  our  people  will  not  increase 
so  rapidly  in  the  future  as  they  have  in  the  past.  We 
have,  however,  no  assurance  of  that  fact.  The  increase 
in  the  population  of  the  United  States  is  due  to  two 
causes:  the  immigration  of  foreign  peoples  and  the 
natural  reproduction  of  our  own  native  races.  It  is 
doubtless  true  that,  as  time  advances  and  this  country 
becomes  more  densely  populated,  there  will  constantly 
be  an  ever-increasing  backward  pressure  on  immigra- 
tion until  finally  an  equilibrium  will  be  reached.  This 
equilibrium  will  be  attained  when  all  portions  of  the 
earth,  where  the  struggle  for  existence  is  equally  severe, 
are  populated  with  an  equal  density.  But,  while  our 
area  is  being  more  thickly  populated,  other  countries 
will  continue  to  experience  a  more  and  more  dense 
population  through  the  medium  of  natural  reproduc- 
tion, and  this  will  tend  to  favor  immigration,  perhaps 
for  several  centuries,  unless  preventive  legislation 
interferes. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  the  tendency  of  our  country 
to  maintain  peace  with  the  nations  of  the  world,  there 
will  be  less  destruction  of  human  fife  from  the  source  of 
war  and  its  attendant  diseases  and  calamities,  while 
the  virility  of  the  sex  instinct  gives  no  serious  evidence 
of  diminution.    The  present  indications  are  that,  with 


14  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

respect  to  the  increase  of  human  beings,  history  will 
repeat  itself.  Even  if  the  tremendous  population  an- 
ticipated is  not  realized  within  the  time  above  men- 
tioned, yet  it  is  certain  to  come,  if  a  century  more  of 
time  is  needed,  thus  making  the  precautions  here  ap- 
prehended equally  vaUd. 

Let  a  modem  example  be  cited  to  show  that  the 
apprehension  of  an  over-population  is  not  a  mere 
phantom.  Since  Japan  threw  her  doors  open  to  the 
nations  of  the  world,  she  has  had  a  wonderful  increase 
in  population.  During  the  past  thirty-five  years  she 
has  had  a  total  increase  of  about  sixteen  millions. 
Her  latest  census  returns  (1908)  show  a  population 
of  49,581,928,  or  336  persons  to  the  square  mile.^ 
As  large  portions  of  the  island  empire  are  not  arable, 
it  has  come  to  pass  during  recent  years  that  the 
nation  is  unable  to  produce  enough  food  for  its  own 
inhabitants.  Most  of  the  imports  are  foodstufifs.  The 
tiller  of  the  soil  has  been  forced  to  obtain  a  living 
from  the  products  of  a  very  small  area  of  land — the 
average  holding  for  each  family  being  two  and  one 
haK  acres.  2  The  system  of  tillage  is  extremely  thorough, 
two  and  even  three  crops  being  raised  annually  on  one 
piece  of  land  where  climatic  conditions  permit.     We 

^Yamawaki,  Haruki:  Japan  in  the  Beginning  of  the  Twentieth 
Century,  pp.  48-50.  Tokyo-Shoin,  Tokyo,  1914.  See  also  Statesman's 
Y ear-Book  for  19 10. 

*  Alfred  Stead:  Japan  by  the  Japanese,  p.  413.  Dodd,  Mead  and 
Company,  New  York,  1904. 


INTENSIVE  AGRICULTURE  15 

thus  see  that,  during  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth 
century,  there  existed  an  economic  necessity  for  ex- 
pansion. ^  The  immediate  agricultural  possibilities  of 
the  nation  had  reached  their  Hmit.  The  acquisition 
of  other  lands  was  necessary,  or  starvation  would  be 
the  inevitable  lot  of  a  portion  of  the  people.  The 
solution  of  the  problem  was  reached  by  the  forced 
annexation  of  Korea  to  the  empire  of  Japan,  and  the 
emigration  of  large  numbers  of  the  Japanese  to  that 
sparsely  inhabited  peninsula. 

Our  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  cannot  be  supported  on 
a  hungry  stomach,  or  an  unclothed  or  unsheltered 
body.  Our  people  must  have  ample  food,  clothing, 
and  shelter,  if  they  are  to  continue  the  development, 
or  only  the  support,  merely,  of  our  very  complex  and 
high  state  of  civilization.  Better  a  hundred  years 
for  our  country  to  grow  in  than,  like  Rome,  a  century 
in  which  to  decay.  Now  is  the  time  to  begin  to  learn 
the  great  and  vital  lesson  that  is  sure  to  be  forced  upon 
future  generations.  This  is  one  of  the  numerous  reasons 
why  many  state?  are  getting  ready  to  teach  the  sub- 
ject of  agriculture  in  earnest  in  their  schools.  It 
not  only  is  a  means  of  present  prosperity,  but  will,  it 
is  hoped,  eventually  result  in  the  amelioration  of  the 
conditions  of  life  for  the  thousands  who  are  to  come 
after  us.  Sooner  than  any  other  class  of  citizens,  the 
American  school  teachers  should  awaken  to  their  re- 

^  F.  A.  McKenzie:  The  Unveiled  East,  p.  10.  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Com- 
pany, New  York,  1907. 


l6  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

sponsibility  in  this  matter  of  popular  education  in 
agriculture,  and  rise  to  make  an  opportunity  for  the 
introduction  of  this  subject  into,  and  its  maintenance 
as  a  part  of,  the  program  of  studies  in  our  public  schools. 

Review  of  Chapter  II 

Give  reasons  why —  '  ^^y^ 

1.  Agriculture  should  be  taught  in  the  public  schools. 

2.  The  Germans  and  the  Chinese  are  better  agricul- 
turists than  the  Americans. 

3.  We,  as  a  nation,  must  learn  the  lesson  of  intensive 
agriculture,  or  starve,  or  fight. 

4.  Natural  increase  in  population,  immigration,  and  peace 
will  tend  to  increase  the  seriousness  of  the  problem. 

5.  Japan  was  forced  to  solve  her  agrarian  problems  with 
war. 

6.  The  teachers  of  America  should  respond  to  the  call 
of  agricultural  education. 


CHAPTER  III 
A  POPULAR  SCIENTIFIC  AGRICULTURE 

There  can  be  no  intensive  agriculture  without  a  scien- 
tific agriculture.  The  conservation  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  implies  the  application  of  scientific  methods 
to  the  art  of  plant  and  animal  production.  These 
two  things  are  inseparable;  for  the  former  is  a  result 
that  may  be  obtained  only  through  using  the  latter 
as  a  means.  Before  the  state  can  realize  the  benefits 
of  an  intensive  agriculture,  it  must  first  produce  a 
generation  of  farmers  who  are  educated  in  the  princi- 
ples of  the  science  and  art  of  agriculture. 

Unscientific  agriculture  is  wasteful.  Just  as  an  auto- 
mobile may  be  wrecked  by  an  unskilled  person  who 
does  not  understand  the  principles  of  its  operation 
and  has  not  acquired  the  necessary  practice  in  such 
operation,  so  the  soil  may  be  depleted  of  its  fertility 
by  being  farmed  by  one  who  does  not  understand  the 
tmderlying  principles  of  soil  fertility  and  the  proper 
methods  of  soil  management.  Likewise  improper 
methods  of  feeding  and  caring  for  live  stock,  and  the 
disposal  of  animal  products,  will  not  secure  the  high- 
est returns. 

Farmers  should  approach  their  life's  work  with  a 
thorough  understanding  of  its  underlying  principles, 

AGKIC.   EDUC. — 2  17 


l8  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

and  this  knowledge  can  be  received  by  the  vast 
majority  of  farmers'  sons  only  through  the  instruc- 
tion which  is  obtained  through  the  local  public 
school. 

The  conservation  of  soil  fertility  must  be  emphasized 
and  universally  taught.  Should  the  farmers  of  the  na- 
tion disregard  this  need,  results  more  dire  than  those 
apprehended  from  over-population  would  overtake  us. 
The  unscientific  management  of  the  soU  would  surely 
serve  to  hasten  the  impending  calamity.  Let  an  ex- 
ample be  given.  Soil  is  rarely  cultivated  more  than 
eight  inches  deep.  Most  of  its  available  fertiUty  comes 
from  the  first  twelve  inches  of  the  surface.  Although 
the  roots  of  plants  are  kno\\Ti  to  extend  many  feet  into 
the  ground,  yet  these  deep  penetrations  are  mostly  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  additional  water.  The  plant 
food  which  this  deep  soU  moisture  holds  in  solution  may, 
in  general,  be  said  to  have  been  dissolved  by  it  as  it 
passed  through  the  upper  layers  of  the  surface.  The 
average  chemical  analyses  of  a  large  number  of  various 
soils  show  that  the  first  eight  inches  of  an  acre  of 
ground  contain  the  three  most  Umited,  but  positively 
essential,  plant  foods  in  round  numbers  as  follows:  nitro- 
gen, 3,000  pounds;  phosphorus,  4,200;  and  potassium, 
16,300.^  Furthermore,  the  amounts  of  these  elements 
removed  yearly  from  an  acre  of  soil  by  leading  crops, 
are,  in  round  numbers,  as  follows: 

^  Roberts,  Isaac  Phillips:  The  Fertility  of  the  Land,  p.  14,  1906. 
The  MacmiUan  Company,  New  York. 


POPULAR  SCIENTIFIC  AGRICULTURE 


19 


Approximate  Amounts  of  the  Three  Most  Limited 
Fertilizers  Removed  Annually  from  an  Acre  of 
Soil  by  Certain  Crops.  ^ 


Crop 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

pounds 

pounds 

pounds 

Corn,  whole  plant,  50  bu. 

75 

15 

35 

Wheat,  25  bu. 

45 

10 

30 

Potatoes,  200  bu. 

40 

10 

60 

Tobacco,  1600  lbs. 

75 

15 

200 

Timothy  hay,  i  yi  tons 

35 

5 

35 

A  soil  is  exhausted  for  plant  production  when  any 
element  in  the  soil  necessary  to  plant  growth  is  no 
longer  available.  This  availability  ceases  long  before 
the  total  supply  is  exhausted.  Although  the  residue 
is  capable  of  being  released  by  chemical  processes, 
it  may  not  be  in  a  soluble  condition,  and  is,  there- 
fore, unavailable  to  the  plant.  Furthermore,  long 
before  all  the  available  plant  food  is  exhausted, 
the  area  of  ground  becomes  economically  unproduc- 
tive— or  produces  uneconomically.  Supposing,  how- 
ever, that  all  these  elements  chemically  shown  to  be 
contained  in  the  first  eight  inches  of  soil  are  avail- 
able, that  no  additions  of  these  elements  are  made 
from  any  source,  and  that  the  production  of  crops 

^  Cf.  Hopkins,  Cyril  G.  Soil  Fertility  and  Permanent  Agriculture, 
p.  154,  1910.  Ginn  and  Company,  Boston.  Also,  Van  Slyke,  Lucius 
L.,  Fertilizers  and  Crops,  p.  177,  1912.  Orange  Judd  Company,  New 
York. 


20  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

from  an  acre  would  be  profitable  until  the  entire  amount 
of  any  of  these  fertilizing  elements  were  used  up,  we 
may  readily  calculate  from  the  preceding  table  how 
long  it  would  take  to  exhaust  the  soil  (first  eight  inches) 
completely.  In  the  case  of  com  it  would  take  about 
40  years,  for  the  complete  supply  of  nitrogen  would 
then  be  exhausted;  in  the  case  of  wheat,  this  exhaustion 
would  result  in  about  66^  years.  Suppose  that  in 
the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  the  nitrogen  and  the  phos- 
phorus suppHes  were  to  be  maintained  but  the  po- 
tassium supply  were  allowed  to  diminish.  In  just  81 
years,  according  to  the  data  given  and  the  conditions 
assumed,  tobacco  would  cease  to  grow  to  maturity. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  continue  these  crude  es- 
timates any  further  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of 
securing  a  universal  recognition  of  the  importance 
of  conserving  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  With  the  dawn- 
ing of  the  day  of  intensive  cultivation  for  all  the 
arable  soil  of  the  country,  must  also  come  the  universal 
education  of  the  farming  classes  in  the  scientific  prin- 
ciples and  practices  of  husbandry.  This  means  com- 
plete democracy  in  agricultural  education  for  rural 
people;  and  the  public  school  is  now  the  only  known  in- 
stitution through  which  this  task  can  be  efficiently 
and  successfully  accomplished. 

In  almost  every  community  there  are  one  or  more 
examples  of  farmers  who  continually  persist  in  "bring- 
ing up  the  rear."  They  are  always  late  in  the  most 
important  and  regular  operations  of  the  farm,  such 


POPULAR  SCIENTIFIC  AGRICULTURE  21 

as  planting  and  harvesting  corn,  wheat,  and  oats, 
making  hay,  selling  hogs  and  crops,  paying  taxes  and 
debts.  They  seem  somewhere  to  have  lost  one  or 
two  weeks  out  of  their  lives  and  have  never  been  able 
to  catch  up.  In  most  cases  this  affliction  seems  to  have 
been  "transmitted"  from  father  to  son  for  two,  three, 
and  even  four  generations;  and  to-day  there  are  still 
a  few  farmers  in  our  midst  who  are  suffering  the  pen- 
alty of  the  "behind-time"  sin  that  was  committed 
by  some  ancestor  during  the  latter  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century!  The  seasons,  like  time  and  tide,  wait 
for  no  man.  To-day,  as  in  the  past,  there  are  too  many 
farmers  who  are  content  to  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  their  fathers  and  grandfathers,  no  matter  whether 
their  practices  of  agriculture  were  good  or  bad.  It  is 
this  unscientific  practice  of  blindly  following  the  habit- 
ual methods  of  farming,  whether  right  or  wrong,  with- 
out knowing  or  considering  the  reasons  why,  that 
the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  rural,  elementary 
and  secondary  schools  is  designed  to  remedy. 

In  1862  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed  the 
Morrill  Act  by  the  provisions  of  which  the  first  state 
agricultural  colleges  were  established.  These  insti- 
tutions have  been  doing  an  admirable  work  for  over 
half  a  century,  but  they  have  not  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing, as  they  should,  the  practical  needs  of  the  mass  of 
farmers.  This  failure  is  recognized  by  both  the  agricul- 
tural colleges  and  the  rural  population.  These  higher 
institutions  are  too  far  removed  from  the  common 


22  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

farmer  and  it  is  the  common  farmer,  his  wife,  sons,  and 
daughters  that  must  somehow  be  reached. 

On  the  other  hand,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  reach 
the  country  people  through  the  teaching  of  nature 
study  in  the  elementary  schools.  Unfortunately,  the 
instruction  given  in  this  subject  usually  affords  but 
a  very  meager  knowledge  of  the  principles  and  prac- 
tices of  real  agriculture.  It  has  been,  and  still  is, 
pursued  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  getting  acquainted 
with  a  few  of  the  more  striking  phases  of  nature,  and 
its  aim  is  chiefly  aesthetic.  The  most  fundamental 
and  elementary  principles  of  agriculture  are  not  touched 
and  never  would  be  learned,  if  we  depended  upon 
nature  study  for  them. 

The  only  way,  then,  to  reach  the  masses  and  impart 
to  them  the  knowledge  of  the  scientific  principles  of 
agriculture  is  through  the  medium  of  the  pubHc  schools. 
Here  the  present  generation  of  farmers'  sons  and 
daughters,  and  the  young  people  of  the  cities  who 
may  become  interested  in  farming  and  country  life, 
may  be  taught  the  theory  and  practice  of  scientific 
agriculture.  That  the  instruction  in  the  elemental 
principles  of  agriculture  in  the  public  schools  does 
give  effective  results  is  no  longer  a  theory  to  be  dem- 
onstrated at  some  future  time,  but  we  have  evidence 
that  it  makes  such  results  a  matter  of  history.  One 
reason  why  the  people  of  Germany  secure  such  good 
returns  from  their  soil  is  attributed  to  this  cause. 
More  striking  still  is  the  fact  that  European  peasants 


POPULAR  SCIENTIFIC  AGRICULTURE  23 

who  migrate  to  America  from  Germany,  Belgium, 
Holland,  France,  Denmark,  and  Sweden  invariably 
outstrip  our  native  farmers  in  raising  crops.  They 
know  the  essentials  of  spraying,  tillage,  soil  fertility, 
feeding,  breeding,  etc.  They  have  been  taught  these 
things  from  their  youth  up  in  the  pubHc  schools  of 
their  native  lands.  It  is  indisputable  that  immigrants 
from  the  north-European  countries  have  converted 
into  productive,  thriving,  and  well-stocked  farms, 
lands  upon  which  the  average  American  farmer  could 
not  have  subsisted.  In  New  England,  these  people 
are  even  now  beginning  to  reclaim  the  abandoned 
farmsteads,  and  once  more  the  fields  of  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers  are  to  bloom  and  bear  fruitage.  "Nor 
should  this  success  be  attributed — as  it  so  often  is — 
to  a  lower  scale  of  Hving  on  the  part  of  the  foreign- 
bom  farmer.  The  real  secret  of  their  success  is  thrift 
and  knowledge  of  the  essentials  of  scientific  farming. 
Americans  should  take  the  lesson  to  heart,  for  in  this 
respect  Europeans  can  yet  teach  us  important  educa- 
tional facts."  ^ 

Scientific  agriculture,  as  it  should  be  taught  in  the 
schools,  prepares  for  the  business  of  farming.  About 
one  third  of  our  people  are  engaged  in  this  business, 
and  there  will  always  be  a  large  percentage  of  them 
employed  in  the  noble  work  of  providing  food  and  cloth- 
ing for  mankind.     In  the  various  professions,  as  in 

*  See  H.  W.  Foght:  The  Rural  School  of  the  Twentieth  Century, 
pp.185-6.    The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1910. 


24  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

law,  medicine,  teaching,  and  preaching,  men  have 
long  realized  the  necessity  for  a  more  or  less  thorough 
preparation  before  beginning  active  work  in  these 
caUings.  Even  in  the  trades,  young  men  are  com- 
pelled to  serve  a  term  of  apprenticeship  before  they  are 
enabled  to  perform  the  work  of  a  master  mechanic. 
In  agriculture,  however,  the  matter  has  been  quite 
different.  We  used  to  say,  "Anybody  can  farm." 
That  was  only  another  way  of  saying  that  every  one 
knew  all  there  was  to  be  known  on  the  subject,  and, 
as  there  were  but  few  principles  and  facts  to  be  fol- 
lowed, almost  anybody  could  engage  in  the  industry 
with  assured  success.  But  we  no  longer  speak  as  we 
used  to.  During  the  past  hah-century,  the  agricultural 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  of  the  nation  have 
been  ferreting  out  the  facts  of  nature,  and  from  these 
have  been  drawn  many  principles  and  laws  appHca- 
ble  to  plant  and  animal  production.  There  is  now  a 
large  body  of  facts,  principles,  and  laws  that  are  being 
pedagogically  organized  for  the  purpose  of  agricultural 
instruction  in  the  rural,  elementary,  and  high  schools. 
It  takes  brains  to  farm.  A  twentieth-century  farmer 
must  have  more  or  less  thorough  knowledge  of  botany, 
zoology,  chemistry,  physics,  meteorology,  bacteriology, 
geology,  mechanics,  veterinary  medicine,  law,  eco- 
nomics, and  business, — ^besides  a  knowledge  of  the 
branches  usually  taught  in  the  elementary  schools. 
Men  that  farm  by  rote  seldom  make  good  farmers. 
Not  all  the  duties  of  the  farm  can  be  reduced  to  au- 


POPULAR  SCIENTIFIC  AGRICULTURE  25 

tomatisms,  because  they  are  too  many  and  too  va- 
ried. A  large  share  of  them  depend  upon  the  natural 
conditions  of  weather,  soil,  air,  and  sunlight.  Some 
of  the  farm  work  may  be  done  indoors,  but  most  of 
it  is  done  under  the  open  sky.  To  perfectly  adapt  and 
successfully  apply  the  principles  of  agriculture  under 
these  varied  conditions,  which  are  multitudinous  in 
number,  one  must  have  a  superior  intelhgence — an 
intelligence  above  that  of  the  average  man.  In  the 
factory,  the  shop,  the  office,  and  the  store  one  does 
not  meet  with  such  an  infinite  variety  of  conditions. 
The  store  has  its  regular  system  and  routine;  the  office, 
its  regular  business  forms  and  card  indexes;  the  shop, 
its  comparatively  small  round  of  labor;  and  the  factory, 
a  single,  simple  piece  of  work  for  each  person.  Not 
very  complex  thought  processes  are  involved  in  the 
work  of  the  man  who  operates  a  single  machine  in  a 
factory  from  day  to  day  throughout  the  year,  or  who 
plugs  the  air  holes  in  the  tin  cans  in  a  canning  factory; 
nor  of  the  woman  who  sews  the  single  seam  in  a  certain 
garment,  or  who  operates  the  typewriter  eight  or  ten 
hours  a  day.  Indeed,  the  young  man  who  aspires  to 
the  high  place  of  an  agriculturist  needs  a  more  thorough 
preparation  than  the  common  laborer,  the  clerk,  or 
the  artisan. 

Review  of  Chapter  III 

What  relationship  exists  between  an  intensive  and  a 
scientific  agriculture?    Why  is  an  unscientific  agriculture 


26  AGRICULTUfL\L  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

wasteful?  Why  should  the  conservation  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  be  universally  taught?  How  long  does  it  take  to 
deplete  the  soil  with  some  of  the  common  crops  of  the 
farm?  What  is  the  nature  and  the  penalty  of  the  behind- 
time  sin?  Why  have  the  agricultural  colleges  and  nature 
study  teaching  failed  to  reach  the  masses  of  farmers?  What 
is  the  plan  advocated  for  reaching  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
country  people?  What  proof  have  we  that  the  plan  will 
work?  Why  is  it  more  essential  for  the  farmer  of  the 
future  to  be  educated  in  agriculture  than  it  was  for  his 
ancestors?    Why  does  it  take  brains  to  farm? 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER 
OF  AGRICULTURE 

Everywhere  teachers  are  looking  out  for  first  aids 
in  teaching  agriculture,  when  they  ought  to  be  looking 
in.  The  first  aids  come  from  within,  and  consist  of 
those  peculiar,  personal  characteristics  that  are  es- 
sential to  success  in  any  given  undertaking.  With 
reference  to  rural  and  agricultural  matters  these  quah- 
ties  are  indigenous  to  the  soil  and  the  open  country; 
city  influences  and  environment  tend  to  drive  them 
out  of  the  lives  of  men,  but  the  free  and  open  life  of 
the  farm  fosters  their  growth  and  development.  Some 
persons  are  capable  of  acquiring  these  rural  qualities, 
while  others  are  not.  There  are  certain  other  qualifi- 
cations that  can  be  attained  only  by  the  process  of 
formal  education.  In  reference  to  the  teaching  of 
agriculture  in  the  public  schools,  let  us  see  what  the 
most  important  of  these  various  attainments  are. 

1.  Rural  mindedness. — Of  the  many  characteris- 
tics that  a  teacher  of  agriculture  should  possess,  one  of 
the  first  and  most  essential  is  that  of  rural  mindedness. 
This  characteristic  is  a  kind  of  spiritual  possession 
and  manifests  itself  in  a  love  for  things  rural.  If  we 
love  boys  and  girls  who  have  been  reared  on  the  farm; 

27 


28  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

if  we  react  sympathetically  toward  their  environment; 
if  we  take  a  genuine  delight  in  the  growing  of  wheat, 
com,  potatoes,  beans,  and  other  crops  of  the  field  and 
garden;  if  we  feel  kindly  toward  horses  and  cattle, 
sheep  and  hogs,  turkeys  and  chickens;  if  we  are  in- 
terested in  the  plow,  the  mower,  the  binder,  the  wagon, 
the  com  cutter,  the  separator;  if  we  appreciate  the 
need  of  properly  locating  buildings,  ditches,  fences, 
gates,  and  driveways;  if  we  reahze  that  business  meth- 
ods must  be  apphed  to  farm  operations;  if  we  are  not 
repulsed  by  a  pair  of  overalls  or  by  digging  in  the  soil 
with  our  hands;  if  we  like  to  hoe,  spade,  rake,  plow, 
pitch  hay,  milk  cows,  chop  wood,  and  haul  manure, — ■ 
if  we  are  attracted  by  these  things,  we  are  rural  minded. 
If  these  things  are  repulsive  to  us,  then  we  are  not  yet 
ready  to  teach  agriculture  most  effectively  to  the 
boys  and  girls  of  the  country. 

Seek  first  to  become  rural  minded.  It  is  a  spiritual 
quahty  that  may  be  acquired;  be,  therefore,  not  dis- 
couraged, if  you  chance  to  find  yourself  out  of  tune 
with  the  rural  environment  of  the  children  that  you 
are  to  teach.  Open  your  mind  and  heart  to  the  sweet 
and  strong  influences  of  country  fife,  accept  the  rough 
exteriors  as  signs  of  sturdy  characters  beneath,  and, 
mayhap,  you  too,  will  be  granted  the  useful  and  happy 
life  and  experience  of  the  farmer. 

2.  Enthusiasm. — If  one  has  the  spirit  of  the  farmer, 
then  he  is  likely  to  attain  its  manifestation:  he  will 
be  enthusiastic  about  rural  Hfe  and  the  objects  through 


QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER  29 

which  it  expresses  itself.  He  will  have  a  wonderful 
vision  of  ripe  grains,  luscious  fruits,  fine  stock,  fertile 
fields,  warm  and  neat  clothing,  comfortable  homes, 
efficient  schools,  prosperous  churches,  good  citizens, 
and  a  Christian  people  rising  as  by  magic  out  of  the 
materials  and  the  labors  with  which  the  farmer  so 
joyously  employs  himself.  Every  young  teacher 
should  remember  that  enthusiasm  for  the  new  gospel 
of  agricultural  education,  will,  at  the  beginning  of  his 
career,  cover  a  multitude  of  pedagogical  sins  and  a 
heap  of  ignorance.  Better  than  that,  it  will  also  start 
him  to  work;  and  if  he  is  made  of  the  right  kind  of  stuff, 
no  one  need  be  fearful  of  the  outcome. 

3.  Harmonious  adjustment. — In  many  instances,  es- 
pecially with  women  teachers,  there  must  be  a  gen- 
uine desire  for  readjustment.  All  their  fives,  many 
of  them  have  been  out  of  harmony  with  their  own 
and  their  children's  environment.  They  have  been 
out  of  tune  with  the  farm  life,  and  many  need  retuning. 
For  instance,  the  siUy  fear  of  toads  must  be  dropped. 
And  how,  indeed,  can  a  teacher  who  is  afraid  of  cows, 
successfully  teach  the  many  practical  lessons  in  animal 
studies!  There  are  teachers  who,  perhaps  aU  their 
lives,  have  regarded  swine  as  dirty  and  repulsive 
beasts,  and  yet  who  refish  a  fine  pork  roast.  "What 
God  hath  cleansed,  make  not  thou  common. " 

Besides  attaching  repulsive  attributes  to  certain 
objects  of  the  farm,  many  people  are  in  the  habit  of 
thinking  of  certain  other  things  in  the  spirit  of  vulgar- 


30  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

ness.  What  a  noble  animal  is  a  prize  bull!  And  yet 
some  prudes  slander  him  by  calling  him  a  "steer". 
Let  us,  as  intelligent  men  and  women,  divorce  all  vul- 
gar thoughts  from  the  words:  hen,  mare,  ewe,  sow, 
jenny,  rooster,  buck,  bull,  stallion,  ass,  teats,  stud, 
manure,  and  a  score  of  other  terms  of  the  farm  that 
ought  to  be  inviolable,  because  they  represent  things 
that  are  essential  to  human  life.  Let  us  call  things 
by  their  right  names  in  a  natural  way.  Evil  thoughts 
are  not  inherent  in  these  terms,  although  it  must  be 
admitted  that  they  are  often  found  associated  with 
the  vice  sores  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  some  persons. 

4.  Professional  knowledge. — The  true  teacher  will 
need  more  than  the  spirit  of  rural  mindedness,  its  re- 
sulting enthusiasm,  and  a  harmonious  adjustment 
to  farm  life.  He  will  need  correct  professional  knowl- 
edge of  what  to  teach,  and  how  and  when  to  teach  it. 
There  are  many  facts  and  principles  included  in  the 
great  fund  of  agricultural  knowledge  that  should  be 
taught  in  the  elementary  school;  there  are  a  great 
many  more  that  should  not  be  attempted  there,  and 
any  elBfort  to  teach  them  will  result  in  inevitable 
failure.  There  are  certain  seasons  when  certain  things 
agricultural  may  best  be  taught,  and  to  neglect  or 
disregard  this  fact  is  folly.  There  are  pedagogical 
methods  of  approach  to  the  mind  of  the  child  by 
means  of  a  scientific  (pedagogically  speaking)  sequence 
of  the  materials.  To  blunder  in  this  regard  may  re- 
sult in  the  defeat  of  the  effort  to  establish  desirable 


QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER  31 

knowledge,  habits,  aims,  and  ideals  in  the  mind  and 
the  life  of  the  child.  Laboratory  and  industrial  methods 
of  instruction  must  be  employed,  because  agriculture 
is  a  physical  science  and  deals  with  the  most  common 
materials  that  enter  into  the  experience  of  country 
children.  There  is  the  art  side  of  the  whole  field  of 
agricultural  education,  which  is  equally  important 
with  the  science  side,  and  to  teach  the  science  of  agri- 
culture to  the  neglect  of  the  art  of  agriculture  will 
place  a  one-sided  emphasis  upon  the  whole  subject. 

Review  of  Chapter  IV 

Discuss — The  first  aids  in  the  preparation  to  teach  agri- 
culture. Rural  mindedness.  Enthusiasm.  Harmonious 
adjustment.    Professional  knowledge. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  PREPARATION  OF  TEACHERS  TO 
TEACH  AGRICULTURE 

The  work  of  preparation  to  teach  agriculture  in  the 
public  schools  in  compliance  with  the  demands  of  the 
times,  is  now  one  of  the  chief  considerations  of  no  fewer 
than  one  hxmdred  thousand  teachers  in  the  United 
States,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  number  of 
such  teachers  is  much  greater.  Multitudes  of  teachers 
are  seeking  to  know  how  they  may  most  quickly  pre- 
pare themselves  to  teach  this  subject  in  order  to  hold 
their  positions,  to  pass  examinations,  to  seize  op- 
portunities to  rise  in  their  profession,  to  become  more 
efficient  teachers  of  agriculture,  or  to  secure  popular- 
ity. Thousands  of  supervisors — especially  village, 
township,  county,  and  state  superintendents — are 
considering  ways  and  means  of  accomplishing  this 
gigantic  undertaking,  if  happily,  they  are  not  con- 
fronted with  the  more  serious  task  of  acquiring  some 
degree  of  training  in  this  subject  for  themselves.  When 
we  consider  that  the  demand  is  insistent,  that  the 
preparation  must  be  immediate,  and  that  with  the 
great  majority  of  teachers,  this  preparation  must  go 
forward  while  they  are  in  service,  we  begin  to  realize 
the  seriousness  of  the  situation  that  now  confronts  us. 

32 


PREPARATION  OF  TEACHERS  33 

This  view  of  the  situation  may  seem  rather  discourag- 
ing, but  we  are  only  reviewing  conditions  as  they  really 
exist.  To  seem  pessimistic  is  not  intended;  only  the 
seriousness  of  our  problem  must  not  be  overlooked. 
It  is  through  optimism,  and  not  pessimism,  that  great 
problems  are  solved.  The  task  of  aiding  teachers  to 
teach  some  agriculture  in  the  public  schools  is  before 
us  and  something  must  be  done  at  once.  Of  course,  not 
much  can  be  accompHshed  in  the  short  space  of  time 
that  popular  clamor  will  give  to  us  for  this  purpose, 
because  it  will  be  a  decade  before  agriculture  is  taught 
in  the  public  schools  as  it  should  be.  The  magnitude 
of  the  problem,  is  such  that  this  cannot  be  otherwise. 
It  becomes  necessary,  therefore,  to  make  use  of  every 
available  means  of  at  once  getting  the  teaching  forces 
of  the  country  "into  the  harness." 

Two  motives  will  guide  teachers  in  their  efforts  to 
prepare  for  teaching  agriculture:  namely,  preparation 
to  satisfy  some  extraneous  desire,  as  the  retaining  of 
-a  posicion,  the  passing  of  an  examination,  or  the  at- 
taining of  some  degree  of  popularity;  and  preparation 
to  teach  agriculture  for  the  sake  of  becoming  a  more 
efficient  teacher.  For  the  vast  majority  of  teachers 
the  ata.inment  of  any  extrinsic  object,  as  the  prepar- 
ing to  take  an  examination  in  agriculture,  for  instance, 
will  not  be  synonymous  with  preparing  to  teach  the 
subject  to  the  pupils  in  the  best  possible  way.  The 
attainment  of  the  latter  aim  requires  a  gradual,  sys- 
tematic, and  progressive  pursuance  of  the  elementary 

AGKIC.   EDUC. — ^3 


34  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

and  fundamental  facts,  principles,  and  processes  of 
agriculture  after  some  organized  plan;  besides  this, 
time  must  be  given  to  work  over  all  this  science  and 
art  into  lesson  plans  for  teaching  purposes.  Th^ 
preparation-for-examination  aim  involves  the  memor- 
jter  method  of  learning  definitions  and  static  facts. 
It  also  necessitates  an  extensive  and  hurried  excur- 
sion over  the  field  of  knowledge  involved,  in  which 
little  depth  is  attained,  and  it  invariably  results  in 
distorted  notions  about  related  topics;  while  the  proc- 
esses, which  form  a  very  important  part  of  educa- 
tion in  agriculture,  cannot  be  experienced.  A  prep- 
aration of  this  sort  is  universally  condemned  by  the 
foremost  educators.  We  shall,  therefore,  allow  this 
motive  to  preparation  to  pass  from  our  consideration 
and  recall  the  first,  which  is  the  real  one, — the  prepar- 
ation to  teach  the  subject  in  the  best  way.  All  other 
motives  should  be  entirely  subordinated  and  made  only 
incidental  to  this. 

The  imparting  of  professional  knowledge  in  its  two- 
fold phase  of  content  and  method  is  the  great  prob- 
lem in  the  formal  training  of  teachers  to  teach  agri- 
culture. They  must  know  the  things  they  teach. 
Scholarship  is  the  first  requisite  to  the  true  success 
of  a  master  teacher.  Furthermore,  the  necessity  of 
having  a  generally  accepted  working  philosophy  of 
teaching  agriculture  in  the  public  school  is  very  ur- 
gent. Though  not  now  the  most  immediately  urgent, 
the  greatest  problems  of  teaching  agriculture  in  the 


PREPARATION  OF  TEACHERS  35 

public  schools  are  pedagogical,  and  not  those  of  a 
technical  scientific  nature.  An  enormous  mass  of 
scientific  agricultural  facts,  principles,  and  laws  has 
been  discovered  and  formulated  by  the  agricultural 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  during  the  past  half- 
century.  The  problem  of  choosing  and  adapting  a 
portion  of  this  knowledge  and  practice  for  use  in  public 
elementary  and  secondary  schools  has  not  yet  been 
fully  solved.  Agricultural  teaching  is  still  in  its  in- 
fancy. The  best  methods  of  teaching  elementary  and 
secondary  agriculture  are  now  in  their  inception,  and 
teachers,  generally,  have  given  little  attention  to  the 
pedagogy  of  industrial  subjects. 

Preparing  to  teach  agriculture,  then,  involves  two 
phases:  namely,  the  learning  of  the  facts  and  prin- 
ciples of  agriculture,  coupled  with  experience  in  farm 
practice,  and  the  learning  of  the  pedagogy  of  agri- 
culture, which  also  involves  theory  and  practice. 
The  close  coordination  of  these  two  phases  of  train- 
ing in  the  preparation  of  teachers  to  teach  agricul- 
ture is  essential. 

Review  of  Chapter  V 

Explain — The  magnitude  of  the  work  of  preparing  teach- 
ers to  teach  agriculture.  The  two  motives  that  prompt 
teachers  in  preparing  to  teach  agriculture.  The  great 
problems  in  the  formal  training  of  teachers  to  teach  agri- 
culture. The  two  phases  involved  in  agricultural  teacher- 
training. 


CHAPTER  VI 

AGENCIES  FOR  THE  PREPARATION  OF 
TEACHERS 

A  BRIEF  consideration  of  the  various  ways  and  means 
available  for  the  preparation  of  public  school  teachers 
to  teach  agriculture  may  prove  helpful. 

1.  Home  study  is  always  a  source  of  help  to  earnest 
teachers  who  have  the  incHnation,  the  initiative,  the 
persistence,  and  the  self-denial  necessary  to  pursue  it. 
Those  who  intend  to  direct  their  own  work  are  ad- 
vised to  select  for  consecutive  study  a  good  elemen- 
tary or  secondary  textbook,  of  which  there  are  now 
several  on  the  market.^  This  study  should  be  supple- 
mented with  the  reading  of  bulletins  from  the  colleges 
of  agriculture,  the  agricultural  experiment  stations, 
and  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  on 
the  various  topics  treated.  Moreover,  constant  and 
careful  reference  should  be  made  to  the  objects  and 
practices  on  a  farm  managed  by  a  good  farmer,  which 
should  be  regarded  as  the  indispensable  laboratory 
of  the  course.  This  method  of  preparation  is  to  be 
recommended  only  to  those  teachers  who  have  no  other 
opportunity  open  to  them. 

Under  this  head  should  also  come  the  home  study 

1  See  pp.  41-42,  for  a  list  of  recommended  books. 
36 


AGENCIES   FOR   PREPARATION  37 

carried  on  under  the  direction  of  correspondence 
schools  and  the  correspondence  courses  of  land-grant 
colleges,  and  the  progressive  and  often  truly  construc- 
tive work  accomplished  through  the  medium  of  efficient 
teachers'  reading  circles. 

2.  Teachers*  institutes,  if  competent  instructors  in 
agricultural  education  are  available  in  sufficient 
numbers,  may  offer  some  help.  This  means  of  in- 
struction may  become  more  important  as  teachers 
increase  their  knowledge  of  agriculture.  However, 
ten  well  selected,  typical  subjects,  with  a  liberal  use 
of  practical  exercises,  properly  treated  in  a  one  week's 
session  of  a  teachers'  institute,  may  not  only  be  a  means 
of  inspiration  to  the  teachers,  but  may  serve  to  direct 
them  in  their  teaching  by  indicating  proper  methods; 
may  be  of  assistance  in  the  further  pursuit  of  the 
subject  of  agriculture  begun  at  the  institute  and  may 
explain  many  things  not  before  understood.  Officials 
in  charge  of  teachers'  institutes  are  everywhere  be- 
ginning to  employ  instructors  in  agricultural  education, 
and  the  serious  efforts  that  are  being  made  in  many 
places  to  reclaim  the  institute  from  the  domination 
of  the  mere  entertainer  are  to  be  commended. 

3.  Teachers*  meetings. — There  are  in  every  state,  a 
few  superintendents,  high  school  principals,  and  teach- 
ers, who  are  quahfied  to  give  some  good,  practical 
work  in  agriculture  to  the  teachers  in  their  respective 
communities.  Under  the  leadership  of  these  persons, 
the  teachers  of  a  community  may  do  much  effective 


38  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR   TEACHERS 

work  during  the  months  of  active  service.  One  in- 
stance especially  comes  to  mind.  In  Ohio,  a  superin- 
tendent of  village  schools,  who  is  also  a  district  su- 
perintendent, held  regular,  weekly  meetings  of  all 
the  teachers  under  his  supervision,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  instruction  in  school  agriculture.  This  man 
had  taken  courses  in  agricultural  education  and  teach- 
ing at  a  summer  session  of  the  state  university;  and 
from  week  to  week  in  teachers'  meetings,  he  presented 
the  materials  of  instruction  by  the  very  methods  that 
the  teachers  were  expected  to  use  in  the  teaching  of 
the  same  lessons  to  their  pupils.  The  school  work  in 
agriculture  in  the  community  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
this  superintendent  for  that  first  year  proved  very 
satisfactory.  A  similar  plan  is  recommended  to  other 
superintendents  who  have  at  heart  the  good  of  the 
teachers  and  pupils  under  their  supervision. 

4.  The  summer  sessions  of  nearly  all  universities, 
colleges,  and  normal  schools  now  offer  courses  in  agri- 
culture. The  work  is  usually  given  by  speciahsts 
in  agricultural  teaching,  and  their  instruction  is  of 
a  very  high  character.  By  earnest  apphcation  during 
one  summer,  hundreds  of  teachers  have  secured  a 
sufficient  preparation  to  pilot  them  safely  through 
the  year.  All  teachers  who  can  do  so  should  attend 
the  summer  session  in  some  good  institution  and 
pursue  the  course  in  agriculture  best  adapted  to  their 
needs. 

It  seems  advisable,  for  the  present  and  perhaps  for 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  39 

some  years  to  come,  that  the  courses  in  agriculture 
given  at  summer  sessions  should  be  of  a  rather  gen- 
eral character.  This  does  not  necessarily  mean  that 
they  need  be  exploitative  courses;  indeed,  they  should 
not  be,  and  instructors  will  do  well  to  provide  against 
such  a  policy.  The  content  training  for  the  elementary 
school  teacher,  or  the  teacher  of  a  rural  or  village 
high  school  where  only  a  one-year  course  in  agricul- 
ture is  taught  more  as  a  cultural  than  a  vocational 
subject,  needs  to  be  quite  different  from  that  for  the 
person  who  is  a  prospective  candidate  for  a  department 
in  an  agricultural  high  school,  for  the  department  of 
agricultural  education  in  a  normal  school  or  a  teachers' 
college,  for  a  department  of  an  agricultural  college, 
or  for  practical  farming. 

Specialists  in  the  various  fields  of  human  endeavor 
seem  slow  to  learn  and  quick  to  forget  the  general 
nature  of  the  field  in  which  the  American  school  teacher 
is  compelled  to  labor.  The  legitimate  work  of  the 
elementary  and  high  schools  must  necessarily  be 
elementary  and  general,  but  fundamental.  The  aver- 
age public  school  teacher  needs  a  general  view  of 
the  subject,  a  groimding  in  the  fundamentals  by  the 
use  of  typical  concrete  materials  necessary  for  definite 
and  adequate  illustration  and  practice.  All  non- 
essentials for  the  actual  and  immediate  work  of  his 
particular  sphere  of  teaching  should  be  left  out.  Sum- 
mer schools  ought  to  meet  such  requirements  by  offer- 
ing, (a)  a  course  in  elementary  agriculture,  (b)  a  course 


40  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR    I'EACHERS 

in  secondary  agriculture,  and  (c)  a  course  in  agricultural 
teaching.  The  majority  of  teachers  will  have  neither 
the  time  nor  the  inclination  to  give  this  single  phase 
of  their  work  more  extended  attention  in  the  summer 
school.  That  is  the  only  time  when  teachers  in  active 
service  may  attend  institutions  of  learning  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  new  developments  of  their  pro- 
fession and  to  renew  their  acquaintance  with  the  older 
subjects,  which  are  quite  as  essential  as  the  new  ones. 
This  must  not  be  construed  to  mean  that  a  more  ex- 
tended training  than  here  recommended  for  the  sum- 
mer school  would  not  be  beneficial  or  advisable;  it 
certainly  is  to  be  advised  and  commended,  but  this  is 
a  consideration  for  the  person  who  is  pursuing  an  ex- 
tended college  course  during  the  regular  college  year, 
and  cannot  apply,  except  in  rare  cases,  to  the  active 
teacher  who  is  the  patron  of  the  summer  school.  Nor 
do  we  mean  to  suggest  that  a  few  of  the  more  technical 
courses  of  the  college  of  agriculture  should  not  be 
offered  for  those  persons  who  may  desire  to  pursue  an 
extended  agricultural  course  by  doing  consecutive 
work  therein  summer  after  summer.  These  more 
comprehensive  courses  of  the  technical  college  have 
their  place  in  the  summer  school,  if  they  are  pursued 
by  those  persons  who  have  an  aim  similar  to  that  under 
which  such  courses  were  constructed  and  are  offered. 

Note. — The  following  works  on  elementary  and  secondary  agri- 
culture are  especially  recommended  for  use  as  guides  in  home 
study: 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  41 

Books  for  High  School  Teachers 

Bailey,  L.  H.:  The  Principles  of  Agriculture,  1907,  pp.  300.  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 

Brooks,  William  F.:  Agriculture,  three  volumes,  1905,  pp.  856.  The 
Home  Correspondence  School,  Springfield,  Mass. 

Davis,  Kary  Cadmus:  Productive  Farming,  191 1,  pp.  357.  J.  B. 
Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia. 

Halligan,  James  Edward:  Fundamentals  of  Agriculture,  19 10, 
pp.  490.  D.  C.  Heath  and  Company,  Boston. 

Jackson,  C.  R.,  and  Daugherty,  Mrs.  L.  S.:  Agriculture  Through  the 
Laboratory  and  School  Garden,  1908,  pp.  450.  Orange  Judd  Company, 
New  York. 

Kyle,  Edwin  Jackson,  and  Ellis,  Alexander  Caswell :  Fundamentals 
of  Farming  and  Farm  Life,  1912,  pp.  557.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 
New  York. 

Mayne,  D.  D.,  and  Hatch,  K.  L.:  High  School  Agriculture,  1913, 
pp.  432.     American  Book  Company,  New  York. 

Warren,  G.  F.:  Elements  of  Agriculture,  1910,  pp.  434,  The  Mac- 
millan Company,  New  York. 

Books  for  Elementary  School  Teachers 

Burkett,  Charles  William;  Stevens,  Frank  Lincoln;  and  Hill, 
Daniel  Harvey:  Agriculture  for  Beginners,  1904,  pp.  339.  Ginn  and 
Company,  Boston. 

Ferguson,  A.  M.,  and  Lewis,  L.  L.:  Elementary  Principles  of  Ag- 
riculture, 1909,  pp.  318.  Ferguson  Publishing  Company,  Sherman, 
Texas. 

Fisher,  Martin  L.,  and  Cotton,  Fassett  A.:  Agriculture  for  Common 
Schools,  1909,  pp.  381.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York. 

Mann,  Albert  R.:  Beginnings  in  Agriculture,  1911,  pp.  317.  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 

Nida,  William  L. :  Elementary  Agriculture,  1913,  pp.  240.  A.  Flana- 
gan Company,  Chicago. 

Nolan,  Aretas  W.:  One  Hundred  Lessons  in  Agriculture,  191 1, 
pp.  351.    Row,  Peterson  and  Company,  Chicago. 

Soule,  Andrew  M.,  and  Turpin,  Edna  Henry:  Agriculture:  Its 


42  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

Fwidamenlal  Primiples,  1907,  pp.  320.  B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing 
Company,  Richmond,  Va. 

Stebbins,  C.  A.:  The  Principles  oj  Agriculture,  1913,  pp.  380.  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 

Upham,  A.  A.:  An  Inlrodudion  to  Agriculture,  1910,  pp.  270.  D. 
Appleton  and  Company,  New  York. 

Wilkinson,  John  W.:  Practical  Agriculture,  1909,  pp.  383.  Ameri- 
can Book  Company,  New  York. 

Wilson,  A.  D.  and  E.  W.:  Agriculture  for  Young  Folks,  1910, 
pp.  340.    Webb  Publishing  Company,  St.  Paul. 

Wood,  Milo  N.:  School  Agriculture,  191 2,  pp.  329.  Orange  Judd 
Company,  New  York. 

Pedagogical. — ^The  following  pedagogical  books  on  agricultural 
education  are  also  recommended: 

Bricker,  Garland  Armor:  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High 
School,  1911,  pp.  xxv+202.  The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 
This  book  is  devoted  to  the  instructional  phase  of  the  subject. 

Davis,  Benjamin  Marshall:  .4 grzcwZ/wra/  Education  in  Public  Schools, 
191 2,  pp.  vi+  159.  The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  Chicago.  This 
is  a  study  of  the  development  of  agricultural  education,  with  partic- 
ular reference  to  the  agencies  concerned. 

Robison,  Clarence  HaU:  Agricultural  Instruction  in  the  Public 
High  Schools  of  the  United  States,  1911,  pp.  viii+ 205.  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University,  New  York.  The  administrative 
phases  of  the  subject  are  discussed  in  this  book. 

5.  Teachers'  extension  schools.  ^ — The  "  Nelson  Amend- 
ment" (34  Stat.  L.  1281),  approved  March  4,  1907, 
and  effective  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1908,  provided  for  increasing,  at  the  rate  of  $5,000  a 
year  for  five  years,  the  funds  appropriated  by  the  Fed- 
eral Government  to  the  several  states  and  territories 

^The  first  complete  account  of  these  schools,  was  published  in 
The  School  Review,  Vol.  XX,  pp.  266-270,  April,  1912. 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  43 

for  the  support  of  the  colleges  of  agriculture.  A  pro- 
viso in  the  act  makes  it  permissible  for  the  land-grant 
colleges  to  devote  a  part  of  this  twenty-five-thousand 
dollar  increase  "for  providing  courses  for  the  special 
preparation  of  instructors  for  teaching  the  elements 
of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts." 

Until  recently,  the  funds  derived  from  this  source 
were  permitted  to  be  used  by  the  land-grant  colleges 
on  the  campus  only.  On  November  2,  191 1,  the 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  promulgated  the 
following  rulings  in  reference  to  the  use  of  the  Nelson 
fund: 

"No  part  of  the  funds  received  under  the  provisions  of 
the  acts  of  1890  and  1907  may  be  used  for  any  form  of 
extension  work,  and  all  instruction  must  be  given  at  the 
institutions  receiving  these  funds,  except  that  a  reasonable 
portion  of  the  funds  provided  by  the  act  of  1907  may  be 
used  for  the  instruction  of  teachers  in  agriculture,  mechanic 
arts,  and  domestic  science  in  summer  schools,  teachers' 
institutes,  and  by  correspondence,  and  in  supervising  and 
directing  work  in  these  subjects  in  high  schools. 

"All  or  a  part  of  the  funds  provided  by  the  act  of  March  4, 
1907,  may  be  used  '  for  providing  courses  for  the  special 
preparation  of  instructors  for  teaching  the  elements  of  agri- 
culture and  mechanic  arts.'  It  is  held  that  this  language 
authorizes  expenditures  for  instruction  in  the  history  of 
agriculture  and  industrial  education,  in  methods  of  teaching 
agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home  economics,  and  also 
for  special  aid  and  supervision  given  to  teachers  actively 
engaged  in  teaching  agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home 


44  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

economics  in  public  schools.  It  does  not  authorize  expendi- 
tures for  general  courses  in  pedagogy,  psychology,  history 
of  education,  and  methods  of  teaching."  ^ 

In  each  state,  therefore,  there  exists  a  financial  means 
for  carrying  on  teachers'  extension  schools  in  agri- 
culture, domestic  arts,  and  farm  mechanics  through 
the  initiative  of  the  land-grant  colleges,  if  only  the 
governing  bodies  of  these  institutions  desire  to  apply 
a  portion  of  the  Nelson  fund  for  that  purpose. 

During  the  school  year  1911-1912,  a  plan  for  carrying 
on  teachers'  extension  schools  for  the  training  of  teachers 
engaged  in  active  service  in  the  elements  of  agriculture 
and  the  methods  of  teaching  the  same,  was  worked  out 
experimentally  under  the  auspices  of  the  College  of  Edu- 
cation and  Agriculture  of  the  Ohio  State  University.  A 
school  was  started  at  Circleville,  Ohio,  in  connection 
with  the  bimonthly  session  of  the  Pickaway  County 
Teachers'  Institute,  October  28th,  191 1,  for  the  purpose 
of  instructing  the  teachers  of  Pickaway  and  adjoining 
Counties  in  the  elements  of  agriculture  and  the  pedagogy 
of  teaching  the  same.  As  soon  as  the  rulings  of  the 
Attorney-General  were  made  known,  money  from  the 
Nelson  fund  was  at  once  applied  to  help  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  this  school.  Doubtless  this  was  the  first  school 
of  its  kind  in  the  United  States  to  use  Nelson  funds  for 
the  training  of  employed  teachers.    On  January  13  and 

1  See  pp.  II,  12,  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  bulletin 
of  191 1  entitled  Federal  Laws,  Regulations  and  Rulings  A  feeling  the 
Land-Grant  Colleges  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts. 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  45 

20,  191 2,  similar  schools  were  begun  at  Mt.  Vernon  and 
Van  Wert,  Ohio,  respectively. 

For  the  benefit  of  others  who  may  wish  to  institute 
similar  schools,  a  brief  description  of  how  to  organ- 
ize and  manage  them  is  here  given. 

The  first  step  is  the  appointment  of  a  local  leader, 
known  as  the  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
who  will  with  others,  work  to  create  sentiment  for  the 
proposed  school,  present  the  plan  to  the  teachers  at 
their  meetings  and  elsewhere,  and  secure  from  them 
pledges  of  attendance.  In  the  meantime  brief  articles 
on  the  nature  and  purposes  of  the  school  should  be 
sent  out  to  all  the  newspapers  in  the  county  where  it 
is  contemplated  holding  the  proposed  school.  Invita- 
tions to  become  members  of  the  school  should  also  be 
sent  to  all  the  teachers  of  the  county.  The  local  leader 
may  be  furnished  with  pledge  cards  upon  which  to  se- 
cure the  names  and  addresses  of  the  teachers  who  pledge 
attendance.  When  fifty  such  pledges  are  secured,  the 
cards  are  filed  with  the  college  or  university,  and  the 
teachers'  extension  school  is  granted  to  the  county  or 
community  seeking  it.  The  sessions  should  be  held  in 
the  town  most  easily  accessible  to  the  majority  of 
the  teachers — usually  the  county  seat. 

A  membership  fee  of  twenty-five  cents,  payable  at 
the  first  meeting,  may  be  required  of  each  member,  and 
the  sum  thus  realized  used  by  the  executive  committee 
to  defray  the  local  expenses  of  the  school.  All  other 
expenses — the  salary  of  the  instructor,  and  his  rail- 


46  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

road  and  hotel  expenses — ^will  be  assumed  by  the  uni- 
versity. 

The  complete  organization  of  the  school  should  be  ef- 
fected at  the  first  meeting.  Each  school  requires  at  least 
four  officers  besides  the  university  professor  who  exer- 
cises general  supervision  over  its  instructional  activities, 
and  the  chairman  of  the  executive  committee.  These 
officers  are :  a  secretary,  a  treasurer,  a  Hbrarian,  and  a 
doorkeeper,  who  together  with  the  chairman  constitute 
the  executive  committee.  The  executive  committee 
has  general  charge  of  the  local  business  matters  of  the 
school. 

A  press  committee  is  also  usually  appointed  by  the 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee.  This  committee 
furnishes  brief  reports  to  the  local  press  concerning 
the  instruction  and  the  progress  of  the  school. 

The  school  should  be  divided  into  two  classes,  A  and  B. 
This  division  is  made  in  order  to  reduce  the  number 
of  books  necessary  for  one  school.  There  may  be  two 
sets  of  books,  one  set  on  the  teaching  of  agriculture 
and  the  other  on  the  content  matter  of  agriculture. 
At  the  first  meeting,  references  in  the  first  set  of  books 
are  assigned  to  class  A,  and  references  in  the  second 
set,  to  class  B ;  at  the  second  meeting,  the  sets  of  books 
together  with  the  corresponding  references  are  in- 
terchanged between  the  two  classes.  A  new  assign- 
ment of  reading  is  made  at  the  third,  and  thereafter 
at  each  odd-numbered  meeting.  The  members  of 
the  school  may  or  may  not  read  the  assignments. 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  47 

Experience  has  shown,  however,  that  in  the  major- 
ity of  cases  the  reading  is  done.  The  members  are 
given  to  understand  from  the  outset,  that  each  indi- 
vidual will  derive  benefit  from  the  school  in  the  direct 
ratio  of  his  own  efforts.  Incidentally,  the  division 
into  classes  affords  the  basis  for  creating  a  healthy 
rivalry  between  them,  which  may  often  be  used  to 
good  advantage. 

The  equipment  of  the  school  may  be  very  simple.  A 
room  in  which  to  meet  regularly  must  be  provided. 
Large  schoolrooms  and  high  school  assembly  rooms 
have  been  found  very  satisfactory  for  this  purpose, 
especially  where  there  are  a  sufficient  number  of  in- 
dividual desks  upon  which  the  notebooks,  the  agri- 
cultural materials,  and  the  simple  apparatus  may 
be  placed.  The  commodious  blackboard  of  the  school- 
room will  also  be  a  welcome  feature.  The  agricultural 
materials  should  be  brought  to  the  school  mostly  by 
the  teachers  from  the  local  farms.  The  simpler  ap- 
paratus needed  may  be  provided  by  the  executive 
committee,  while  the  more  expensive  should  be  brought 
from  the  university.  In  Ohio,  the  Traveling  Library 
Department  of  the  state  library  was  especially  courte- 
ous and  helpful  in  furnishing  a  select  list  of  textbooks 
for  reference  reading. 

The  sessions  usually  are  held  on  Saturdays,  there 
being  two  meetings  to  each  session,  one  in  the  morn- 
ing and  one  in  the  afternoon.  The  meetings  may  be 
an  hour  and  a  half  to  two  hours  long.    They  may  be 


48  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

held  on  consecutive  or  on  alternate  Saturdays,  the 
latter  plan  being  found  the  better.  When  the  alter- 
nate-Saturday plan  is  used,  one  instructor  may  con- 
duct two  schools  at  the  same  time.  These  schools 
in  Ohio  continued  for  six  sessions. 

The  aim  should  be  to  make  the  instruction  so  practical 
and  definite  that  the  teachers  in  attendance  may  use 
the  materials  and  methods  given  them  in  their  own 
schools  during  the  two  intervening  weeks.  That  the 
teachers  appreciate  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  them 
will  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  enrollment  in 
the  first  school,  held  at  Circleville,  was  sixty-two, 
and  several  of  the  teachers  attended  the  school  at 
a  personal  expenditure  of  several  dollars.  At  Mt. 
Vernon  the  enrollment  was  seventy-two  on  the  first 
day,  the  rural  teachers  braving  the  severe  cold  of  a 
morning  when  the  mercury  stood  15°  below  zero.  The 
school  at  Van  Wert  enrolled  eighty-eight  on  the  first 
day.  The  total  enrollments  of  these  schools  reached 
one  hundred  five  and  one  hundred  twenty,  respec- 
tively. 

The  possibilities  of  the  teachers'  extension  school 
are  very  great.  By  enlarging  its  scope  through  the 
presentation  of  additional  subjects,  it  may  well  be- 
come a  worthy  successor  to  both  the  teachers'  insti- 
tute and  the  reading  circle.  By  supplementing  the 
available  Nelson  fund  with  the  sums  usually  spent 
on  the  institute  and  the  reading  circle,  a  teachers' 
extension  school  might  be  carried  forward  on  alternate 


A  LESSON    ON   THE   COW  AT  A   TEACHERS'   INSTITUTE 


■C'ffpm&if  Mefi^ikfiitf  >  .' 


A  SUMMER-SCHOOL  CLASS  OF  TEACHERS  STUDYING  THE  PLOW 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  49 

Saturdays  throughout  the  greater  portion  of  the  school 
year.  Again,  it  would  be  possible  to  reach  the  children 
in  the  pubUc  schools  more  effectively  than  is  now  done, 
with  authentic  information  and  approved  methods 
of  teaching.  Through  a  school  of  this  kind,  attended 
regularly  by  fifty  teachers,  each  of  whom  has  twenty 
pupils,  it  is  possible  to  reach  one  thousand  children 
immediately  and  effectively.  With  a  teachers'  ex- 
tension school  in  each  county,  from  50,000  to  100,000 
public  school  pupils  could  be  reached  in  each  year 
in  the  larger  states.  This  is  an  extremely  rapid  and 
effective  means  by  which  to  spread  the  light  of  popular 
industrial  education.  The  surprising  thing  is  that  a 
similar  method  of  preparing  teachers  who  are  in  active 
service  was  not  long  ago  instituted. 

The  following  scheme  is  suggested  whereby  any  state 
may  institute  a  system  of  teachers'  extension  schools. 
The  county  is  taken  as  the  unit. 

One  fourth  as  many  schoolmen  as  there  are  counties 
in  the  state  should  be  invited  to  attend  the  summer 
session  of  the  land-grant  college  for  the  purpose  of 
pursuing  a  course  of  instruction  designed  to  prepare 
them  for  conducting  teachers'  extension  schools.  These 
persons  should  be  leaders  in  rural  school  affairs  and 
be  interested  in  agricultural  teaching.  With  these 
instructors  in  charge,  and  by  the  use  of  the  alternate- 
Saturday  plan,  one  ha,lf  of  the  extension  schools  may 
be  carried  on  in  as  many  counties  of  the  state  from 
October  to  December,  while  the  same  number  of  schools 

AGRIC.   EDUC. — 4 


50  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION   FOR   TEACHERS 

may  be  carried  on  by  the  same  force  of  instructors  in 
the  remaining  counties  of  the  state  after  the  holidays, 
from  January  to  March.  Since  the  sessions  would  be 
held  on  Saturdays,  the  schoolmen  in  charge  could  do 
this  work  in  addition  to  their  regular  employment. 

By  way  of  remuneration  for  the  time  spent  in  prep- 
aration at  the  summer  session,  and  for  the  actual  work 
of  instruction,  these  extension  school  instructors  should 
be  paid  a  sum  of  $10.00  to  $15.00  a  week  for  their 
services,  they  paying  their  own  necessary  expenses — 
railroad  fares  and  hotel  bills — from  this  sum.  The 
local,  incidental  expenses  of  the  school  may  be  paid 
from  the  fund  realized  from  the  small  registration  fee 
of  twenty-five  cents,  required  from  each  member. 
The  money  for  paying  the  salaries  of  the  instructors 
would,  of  course,  be  appropriated  by  the  land-grant 
college  from  the  Nelson  fund.  The  whole  system 
of  teachers'  extension  schools  would  be  under  the 
direction  and  supervision  of  the  department  of  agri- 
cultural education  located  at  the  college. 

The  cost  of  such  a  system  of  schools,  using  Ohio  as 
an  example,  with  a  force  of  twenty-two  instructors, 
each  school  being  run  for  twelve  weeks  on  alternate 
Saturdays,  and  each  instructor  being  paid  the  sum  of 
twelve  dollars  a  Saturday,  would  be  $6,336.  If  a 
fifty-volume  library  of  suitable  books  for  reference 
reading  were  provided  for  each  school,  an  additional 
sum  of  about  $2,000  would  be  required.  This  is  a  total 
sum  of  $8,336;  or,  if  90,000  children  were  reached — 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  51 

which  would  be  a  much  smaller  number  than  would 
result  by  using  in  our  calculations  the  average  reached 
by  the  three  trial  schools — less  than  9  cents  per  capita. 
In  addition  to  this  over  5,000  teachers  would  receive 
some  genuine,  practical  training  and  no  small  amount  of 
enthusiasm,  both  of  which  would  add  a  wonderful 
impetus  to  the  educational  endeavor  in  rural  com- 
munities. In  this  day,  when  popular  education  is 
coming  to  be  considered  a  serious  economic  problem, 
the  plan  set  forth  in  this  section  ought  to  arrest  the 
attention  of  those  interested  in  state  as  well  as  in 
educational  affairs. 

6.  Normal  school  and  college  courses. — ^The  agencies 
we  have  named  are  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of 
employed  teachers.  They  are  expedients  to  supply 
the  necessary  information  and  help  to  teachers  who 
have  not  hitherto  had  the  opportunity  of  securing  a 
more  or  less  adequate  training  for  the  task  of  teaching 
agriculture.  It  becomes  more  imperative  year  by  year 
that  teachers  of  agriculture  prepare  themselves  most 
thoroughly  for  their  work.  To  this  end  they  should 
seek  to  pursue  and  complete  appropriate  courses  in 
agricultural  education  or  agricultural  teaching  at  those 
educational  institutions  best  prepared  to  serve  the 
teaching  profession  in  this  respect. 

There  are  four  factors  that  influence  the  organiza- 
tion of  courses  in  agricultural  education:  (a)  the  tech- 
nical, (b)  the  professional,  (c)  the  general  training 
courses  that  are  more  or  less  contributory  to  the  effi- 


52  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

ciency  of  the  agricultural  teacher,  and  (d)  the  ad- 
ministrative, including  economy. 

(a)  Technical  training. — The  technical  training  that 
a  teacher  of  agriculture  may  be  expected  to  attain 
■will  depend  upon  the  kind  of  school  in  which  he  in- 
tends to  teach,  whether  in  an  elementary  school,  a 
general  ^  high  school,  a  normal  school,  a  general^  col- 
lege, an  agricultural  high  school,  or  an  agricultural  col- 
lege. As  a  fundamental,  working  principle,  it  may  be 
stated  that  the  technical  training  of  all  such  teachers 
should  begin  the  same  and  become  accumulative  in 
the  order  in  which  the  schools  in  the  foregoing  list 
are  mentioned. 

Laboratory  and  field  work,  including  the  organizing 
and  operating  of  a  demonstration  field  and  home  proj- 
ects, should  be  provided  for.  A  course  of  this  character 
gives  the  proper  perspective  to  the  various  depart- 
ments of  agricultural  science  and  art  and  constitutes 
an  indispensable  basis  for  the  special  application  of 
the  principles  of  pedagogy  to  agricultural  teaching, 
besides  making  an  excellent  foundation  upon  which 
to  build  a  specialized  study  in  any  of  the  various  de- 
partments of  agriculture.  The  acquisition  of  this 
training  should  be  accomphshed  by  pursuing  a  course 
in  the  elements  of  general  agriculture,  which  should  rep- 
resent at  least  one  fourth  of  one  year's  study. 

A  course  of  technical  agriculture,  like  that  outlined 

*  The  word  "  general  "  as  here  used  has  reference  to  the  academic, 
non-technical  schools. 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  53 

in  the  preceding  paragraph,  is  deemed  sufficient  also 
for  the  teachers  in  the  general,  non-technical  high 
schools  where  only  short  courses  are  offered,  and 
where  this  science  is  taught  mainly  as  a  cultural  subject. 

Teachers  for  general  departments  of  agriculture  in 
normal  schools,  general  non-technical  colleges,  and 
agricultural  high  schools  not  organized  on  the  depart- 
mental plan,  should,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing, 
pursue  the  introductory,  fundamental  courses  in  each 
of  the  departments  usually  found  in  the  agricultural 
colleges,  which  should  represent  full  time  work  for 
about  one  and  one  half  years. 

Teachers  preparing  to  teach  in  technical,  agricul- 
tural high  schools  organized  on  the  departmental 
plan,  and  in  agricultural  colleges,  should  pursue  spe- 
cialized studies  in  those  particular  departments  in 
which  they  expect  to  become  teachers,  an  additional 
period  representing  an  additional  one  half  year  and 
one  full  year,  respectively, 

(b)  Professional  training. — ^The  general  professional 
training  of  all  teachers  of  agriculture  will  be  much 
the  same  and  should  consist  of  one  half  to  one  year's 
course  in  educational  psychology j  and  at  least  one  half 
year  in  general  methods.  The  special  training  will  be 
determined  by  the  kind  of  school  in  which  the  teacher 
in  training  expects  to  serve.  There  should  be  at  least 
one  half  year  in  special  methods  for  all  teachers: 
teaching  elementary  agriculture  for  teachers  in  the 
elementary  school  and  teaching  high  school  agriculture 


54  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION    FOR  TEACHERS 

for  the  teachers  in  the  secondary  schools.  From  one 
fourth  to  one  half  of  the  time  in  these  two  courses 
should  be  spent  in  practice  teaching  in  corresponding 
rural  schools. 

If  the  student  is  to  become  a  teacher  in  a  normal 
school  or  in  a  department  of  some  other  higher  insti- 
tution, where  superintendents  and  supervisors  are  to 
be  trained,  there  should  be  required  at  least  a  half 
year  course  in  the  administration  of  agricultural  teach- 
ing in  addition  to  the  strictly  pedagogical  require- 
ments. 

(c)  Contributory  general  training. — The  training  of 
teachers  of  agriculture  may  not  properly  be  limited 
to  the  technical  subjects.  There  are  other  subjects 
that  contribute  to  the  efficiency  of  agricultural  teach- 
ing. In  fact,  it  is  essential  that  teachers  of  agricul- 
ture should  have  a  grounding  in  general  science, — 
especially  in  chemistry  and  physics,  economic  botany 
and  zoology,  while  some  knowledge  of  elementary 
geology  (or  physical  geography)  is  helpful.  Rural 
economics  and  rural  sociology  are  especially  mentioned 
ui  order  that  their  importance  in  the  training  of  teach- 
ers of  agriculture  may  not  be  overlooked.  Teachers 
for  the  high  schools,  the  normal  schools,  and  the  col- 
leges of  whatever  type  should  pursue  at  least  the 
general,  or  foundation,  college  course  in  each  of  these 
subjects.  These  non-technical  but  contributory  sub- 
jects will  represent  about  one  full  year's  study. 

Summary  of  training. — ^The  following  summary  of  the 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  55 

technical  and  the  professional  training  of  each  of  the 
various  classes  of  teachers  will  be  of  interest: 

For  Teachers  of  Agriculture  in  Rural  and  Village 
Elementary  Schools 

Technical  Training  Hours 

The  Elements  of  General  Agriculture 8 

Professional  Training 

Educational  Psychology 3 

General  Methods 3 

Teaching  Elementary  Agriculture — Special  Method  2 

Practice  Teaching 2 

Contributory  General  Training 

Rural  Economics 2 

Rural  Sociology 2 

Secondary  courses  in  Physics  and  Chemistry,  Economic 
Botany  and  Zoology  (or  Biology),  Physical  Geography 
(or  Elementary  Geology). 

Total  collegiate  hours 22 

For  Teachers  of  Agriculture  in  Rural  and  Village 
High  Schools 

(Schools  offering  i  or  J^  unit)  ^ 

Technical  Training  Hours 

The  Elements  of  General  Agriculture 8 

^  A  "unit"  is  defined  as  "a  course  of  study  covering  a  school  year, 
which  shall  include  in  the  aggregate  not  less  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  sixty-minute  hours  of  classroom  work,  two  hours  of  manual 
training  or  laboratory  work  being  equivalent  to  one  hour  of  class- 
room work." 


56  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   TOR  TEACHERS 

Professional  Training  Hours 

Educational  Psychology 3 

General  Methods 3 

Teaching      High      School      Agriculture — Special 

Method 2 

Practice  Teaching 2 

Contributory  General  Training 

Rural  Economics 2 

Rural  Sociology 2 

General  or  foundation  normal  school  or  collegiate 
courses  in  Physics  and  Chemistry,  Economic  Bot- 
any and  Zoology  (or  Biology),  and  Physical  Geog- 
raphy (or  Elementary  Geology),  totaling  about.  .  .  40 
Total  hours 62 

For  Instructors  of  Agriculture  in  Normal  Schools 

Technical  Training 

The  Elements  of  General  Agriculture 8 

Elements  of  Horticulture 8 

Elementary  Farm  Crops 8 

Elements  of  Animal  Husbandry  and  Dairying.  .  .  12 

General  Farm  Management 4 

Farm  Machinery  and  Engineering 4 

Elementary  Soils 8 

Professional  Training 

Educational  Psychology 3 

General  Methods 3 

Teaching  Elementary  Agriculture — Theory 2 

Practice  Teaching 2 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  57 

Professional  Training  (continued)  Hours 

Teaching  High  School  Agriculture — Theory 2 

Practice  Teaching 2 

Administration  of  Agricultural  Teaching 2 

Contributory  General   Training 

Same  as  for  High  School  Teachers 40 

Total  hours 108 

For  the  General  College  and  Agricultural  High  Schools 
not  Organized  into  Depari;ments 

In  general,  the  training  of  the  instructors  in  these 
two  classes  of  schools  should  be  the  same  as  that  of 
the  professor  of  agricultural  education  in  the  normal 
school,  except  that  the  course  in  administration  of  agri- 
cultural teaching  might  well  be  eliminated. 

For  Agricultural  High  Schools  (Departmental)  and 
Agricultural  Colleges 

The  prospective  instructor  in  any  given  department 
of  an  agricultural  high  school  organized  on  the  de- 
partmental plan  should  receive  about  sixteen  hours 
additional  instruction  in  the  technical  subjects  of  his 
special  field;  while  he  who  has  in  view  teaching  in  a 
department  of  an  agricultural  college  should  have 
not  less  than  32  hours  of  such  additional  instruction. 
Measuring  the  training  in  hours,  ^  we  have,  for  each, 

1  An  hour  is  defined  as  a  sixty-minute  period  of  classroom  work  a 
week,  through  a  semester,  either  in  lecture  or  recitation;  two  such 
periods  of  practical  laboratory,  or  field  work  being  regarded  as  the 
equivalent  of  one  period  of  classroom  exercise. 


58  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

124  hours  and  140  hours,  respectively.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  no  consideration  has  been  given  to  courses 
in  English,  public  speaking,  the  languages,  mathe- 
matics, history,  etc.  The  training  of  teachers  of  agri- 
culture should  not  omit  an  acquaintance  with  any  of 
these  departments  of  culture,  for  such  teachers  should 
be  as  broadly  educated  as  other  members  of  the  faculty. 
Adequate  training  in  English  and  in  pubHc  speaking 
is  quite  essential  for  those  persons  who  are  prepar- 
ing to  do  local  extension  work  in  agriculture.  Since 
the  special  training  set  forth  above,  will  require  four 
years  to  complete,  it  will  be  seen  that  about  one  year's 
graduate  study  is  necessary  to  equip  the  agricultural 
college  man  under  present  conditions.  Indeed,  it  is 
probable  that  the  best  agricultural  colleges  will  soon 
insist  that  the  younger  members  of  their  faculties  shall 
have  a  doctor's  degree. 

(d)  Administration. — The  administrative  factor  of  the 
college  cannot  be  overlooked.  Many  of  these  courses 
are  offered  in  the  regular  agricultural  college  ciirriculum, 
and  should  be  pursued  under  the  professors  and  in 
the  departments  offering  them.  No  additional  or- 
ganization will  be  needed.  Where  there  is  a  school 
of  education  in  the  same  institution,  the  strictly  educa- 
tional work  may  be  similarly  disposed  of. 

The  program  of  studies  above  outlined  is  one  which 
very  few,  if  any,  of  our  agricultural  colleges  offer 
in  its  entirety.  Since  this  is  true,  there  should  be  a 
distinct  department  to  offer  those  subjects  for  the 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  59 

training  of  teachers  that  may  not  well  be  included  in 
departments  already  estabhshed.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  need  for  the  unification  and  classification  of 
the  very  diverse  materials  into  workable  systems, 
not  for  farm  practice  but  for  teaching  purposes.  Be- 
cause there  is  a  difference  of  aims  in  the  training  of 
farmers  and  of  teachers,  there  must  be  a  difference 
in  the  courses  for  the  attainmient  of  these  aims.  The 
divergence  of  the  courses  to  be  traversed  by  these 
two  classes  will  be  in  ratio  to  the  divergency  of  the 
ends  in  view.  The  curriculum  for  the  agricultural 
teacher  is  a  sort  of  shunt  from  the  main  line  after 
having  traveled  with  it  during  a  large  part  of  its  course, 
and  after  separation,  still  runs  paralled  with  it. 

It  all  means  exactly  this:  that  there  is  a  difference  be- 
tween farmer  training  and  teacher  training;  that  to  se- 
cure the  greatest  efficiency  in  the  teaching  of  agriculture, 
this  difference  must  be  recognized  and  provided  for; 
that  there  must  be  departments  in  our  agricultural 
colleges,  in  charge  of  specialists  of  agricultural  teach- 
ing; that  these  departments  should  avail  themselves 
of  all  courses  possible  for  them  to  use  in  the  training 
of  the  various  grades  of  agricultural  teachers  and 
supervisors  of  agricultural  teaching;  that  they  should 
institute  and  offer  new  or  special  courses  needed. 
This  implies  a  distinct  program  of  studies,  but  not 
wholly  a  new  set  of  courses.  To  administer  such  spe- 
cial training  there  will  be  need  of  a  distinct  depart- 
ment with  a  faculty  of  one  or  more  persons,  depending 


6o  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION    I"OR  TEACHERS 

upon  the  extent  and  degree  of  efficiency  to  which  the 
work  of  teacher  training  is  carried,  and  the  encourage- 
ment that  this  new  department  of  agricultural  edu- 
cation, or  agricultural  teaching,  receives. 

Review  or  Chapter  VI 

Name  the  four  agencies  first  considered  in  this  chapter. 
What  is  said  of  home  study?  How  may  teachers'  in- 
stitutes assist  in  the  preparation  of  teachers  to  teach 
agriculture?  Show  how  superintendents  and  supervisors 
may  give  assistance.  To  what  extent  are  summer  ses- 
sions recommended?  What  courses  are  recommended  for 
teachers  in  summer  sessions  and  why? 
What  do  you  remember  concerning — 

The  Nelson  Amendment — its  origin  and  purpose?  The 
first  Nelson  teachers'  extension  school?  The  first  step 
to  be  taken  in  the  organization  of  a  teachers'  extension 
school?  The  complete  organization  of  a  teachers'  exten- 
sion school?  The  advantage  of  dividing  the  members  of 
the  school  into  two  classes?  The  necessary  equipment  for 
conducting  a  teachers'  extension  school?  The  days  and  the 
frequency  of  the  sessions  of  the  school?  The  aim  of  the 
instruction  given?  The  possibilities  of  teachers'  exten- 
sion schools?  The  scheme  for  inaugurating  a  state-wide 
system  of  teachers'  extension  schools? 
What  can  you  say  in  support  of — 

Thorough  professional  training  for  teachers  of  agri- 
culture? The  technical  training  proposed  for  each  of  the 
following  classes  of  teachers:  elementary  school;  general, 
non-technical  high  school;  normal  school,  and  general  non- 
technical college;  agricultural  high  school,  and  agricultural 


AGENCIES  FOR  PREPARATION  6 1 

college?  The  professional  training  proposed  for  the  vari- 
ous classes  of  teachers  named?  A  "contributory  general 
training"?  To  what  extent  should  this  be  carried?  The 
training  suggested  for  professors  in  agricultural  colleges? 
The  administrative  problems  involved  in  the  method  of 
training  teachers  in  the  higher  institutions?  Separate  de- 
partments of  agricultural  education  in  normal  schools  and 
agricultural  colleges? 


CHAPTER  VII 

ELEMENTARY     AGRICULTURE     AND     NATURE 

STUDY 

I.  Introduction 

Nature  study  preceded  elementary  agriculture  as 
a  subject  of  study  in  the  public  elementary  schools. 
The  enthusiasm  for  nature  study  reached  its  height 
during  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  and 
the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth.  It  was  during  this 
score  of  years  that  the  best  books  on  nature  study 
were  written,  that  the  various  organizations  to  pro- 
mote and  unify  the  subject  were  bom,  and  that  the 
official  organ  of  the  American  Nature  Study  Society, 
the  Nature-Sttidy  Review,  was  founded.  During  this 
period,  too,  various  principles  and  methods  for  the 
study  and  teaching  of  nature  study  were  enthusias- 
tically promulgated.  Consequently  writings  on  this 
subject  have  been  numerous,  and  persons  interested 
in  this  phase  of  educational  endeavor  have  foimd  it 
comparatively  easy  to  supply  themselves  with  good 
reading  matter  on  nature-study  subjects. 

To  the  impartial  observer,  however,  there  is  unmis- 
takable evidence  that  the  enthusiasm  which  has  in 

62 


NATURE  STUDY  63 

past  years  characterized  the  nature-study  movement 
is  on  the  wane.^  We  no  longer  find  the  same  abun- 
dance of  fresh  Hterature  on  the  subject;  perhaps  the 
field  has  been  thoroughly  covered.  Nature  study  is 
not  so  prominently  a  part  of  educational  discussions 
now  as  it  was  only  a  few  years  ago;  perhaps  teachers 
have  learned  to  teach  the  subject  more  efficiently, 
and  the  passing  of  the  novelty  and  the  stage  of  ex- 
ploitation has  gradually  allowed  it  to  sink  to  the 
conmionplace — to  a  level  with  the  older  subjects  of 
the  elementary  school.  No  new  philosophy  of  nature 
study  has  been  proposed  or  expounded  recently;  per- 
haps the  right  one  has  been  discovered,  or  every  in- 
dividual finds  that  one  corresponding  to  his  own  views 
has  already  been  formulated  which  satisfies  his  needs. 
However  these  things  may  be,  one  must  admit  that 
the  nature-study  idea  does  not  to-day  command  the 
prestige  and  attention  in  the  educational  world  that 
it  promised  only  a  few  years  ago. 

Yet,  nature  study  has  won  a  permanent  place  in 
the  elementary  school.  It  has  a  very  necessary  func- 
tion in  the  modern  education  of  the  child.  It  is  a 
generic  study,  and  although  it  is  not  a  science,  no 
science  can  ever  take  its  place.  As  long  as  it  is  a  use- 
ful study,  and  an  efficient  method  in  the  process  of 
educating  the  child,  and  as  long  as  the  child's  nature 
remains  the  same  as  it  now  is,  nature  study  will  be 

^Education  (Boston),  Vol.  29,  p.  291.  Elementary  School  Teacher 
(Chicago),  Vol.  II,  p.  452. 


64  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

used  in  the  schools  to  secure  the  desired  adjustment 
of  the  child  to  his  environment. 

Elementary  agriculture  began  to  be  taught  in  the  pub- 
lic elementary  schools  during  the  first  decade  of  the 
present  century.  In  fact,  the  first  elementary  agri- 
culture taught  in  the  schools  was  under  the  cloak  of 
nature  study.  Since  nature  study  incorporates  in  its 
possible  sphere  all  natural  objects  and  phenomena, 
domestic  animals  and  plants  as  well  as  soil  and  other 
objects  of  the  farm  and  agricultural  phenomena  are 
recognized  as  legitimate  and  desirable  objects  of 
study.  The  advocates  of  the  so-called  practical  ed- 
ucation were  quick  to  see  this  vantage  point,  and 
those  who  were  in  position  to  lead,  insistently  urged 
the  use  of  farm  materials  and  agricultural  phenomena.^ 
A  large  amount  of  literature  in  harmony  with  this  idea 
began  to  be  supplied  to  teachers.  About  the  same 
time,  the  philosophy  of  the  economic  aim  in  nature 
study  came  to  be  the  dominant  guide  in  the  selection  of 
materials  for  study.  ^  It  thus  came  about  that  the  sub- 
jects of  nature  study  were,  in  large  measure,  selected 
from  among  the  objects  and  phenomena  with  which 
agriculture  deals,  instead  of  from  the  undomesticated 
plants  and  animals  and  imeconomic  things,  as  at  first. 

1  The  achievements  of  Dean  L.  H.  Bailey  in  this  respect  are  espe- 
cially noteworthy.  See  The  Rural  Educator  (Columbus,  Ohio), 
Vol.  I,  p.  6s. 

2  See  especially,  pp.  i  and  2  in  Nature  Study  and  Life  by  Clifton  F. 
Hodge.    Ginn  and  Company,  Boston,  1902. 


KINDERGARTNERS  AT  WORK 


A  DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  ONE  MONTH  AFTER  PLANTING 


NATURE  STUDY  65 

This  remarkable  line  of  development  of  nature 
study  gave  rise  to  many  confusing  notions  in  regard 
to  elementary  agriculture  and  nature  study.  It  was, 
for  a  time,  difficult  to  differentiate  them.  Indeed, 
there  were  those  who  even  went  so  far  as  to  assert  that 
in  essence  nature  study  and  elementary  agriculture 
are  one  and  the  same  thing,  that  a  difference  in  name 
does  not  necessarily  imply  a  difference  in  content  and 
method,  and  that  the  aims  of  one  are  practically  the 
same  as  the  aims  of  the  other.  But  it  was  easily 
pointed  out  that  nature  study  includes  many  things 
not  related  to  agriculture  or  at  best  very  remotely 
so.  To  designate  that  nature  study  which  is  based  on 
agricultural  things,  the  term  agricultural  nature  study 
came  into  use,  and  this  may  be  regarded  as  the  first 
step  in  the  effort  to  differentiate  elementary  agricul- 
ture from  the  general  subject  of  nature  study.  How- 
ever, in  different  sections  of  the  country  elementary 
agriculture  continues  to  be  taught  as  nature  study, 
while  elsewhere  nature  study  is  taught  under  the 
name  of  elementary  agriculture.^ 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  any  discussion  of  elemen- 
tary agriculture  is  closely  wrapped  up  with  a  dis- 
cussion of  nature  study  also.  The  differentiation  of 
these  fields  of  learning  is  not  clearly  defined  in  the 
popular  mind  even  to-day,  and  many  teachers  need 
assistance  in  making  a  clearer  definition  of  the  sub- 

1  Cf.  Coulter  and  Patterson's  Practical  Nature  Stiidy,  pp.  1-2. 
D.  Appleton  and  Company,  New  York,  1909. 

AGRIC.   EDUC. — 5 


66  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

jects.     To  make  the  differentiation  adequate  is  the 
object  of  this  and  the  following  chapter. 

II.  What  is  Nature  Study? 

Nature  study  is  not  a  fashionable  pastime  for  both 
pupils  and  teacher.  A  clear  definition  of  nature  study 
and  an  adequate  statement  of  its  purpose  have  been 
long  in  coming,  and  perhaps  have  not  yet  arrived. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  nature  study  by 
persons  who  have  only  the  haziest  idea  of  what  they 
mean  by  it.  We  find  statements  of  its  purpose  ranging 
all  the  way  from  the  cultivation  of  a  sentimental  love 
for  nature  to  training  in  habits  of  exact  observation 
and  inference.  This  last  purpose  has  been  carried 
to  such  an  extent  that  many  educators  designate  the 
study  by  the  term  elementary  science.  But  nature 
study  is  not  a  science  in  the  sense  that  there  is  any 
given  body  of  systematically  arranged  facts,  principles, 
and  laws  to  be  learned;  yet  it  is  more  than  a  mere 
sentiment — a  love  of  nature.  Nature  study  finds  its 
place  between  these  extreme  views.  ^ 

There  are  two  points  of  view  from  which  nature  study 
is  considered  by  various  writers  and  philosophers. 
Some  consider  the  child  and  the  purpose  of  teaching 
him  (philosophers);  others  consider  the  materials  used 
in   the   teaching  process    (scientists).     No   adequate 

1  Science,  Vol.  30,  p.  525.  Coulter  and  Patterson:  Practical  Nature 
Study,  pp.  16-17.  Scott,  Charles  B.:  Nature  Study  and  the  Child, 
1902,  Chap.  III.    D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston. 


NATURE  STUDY  67 

or  intelligent  notion  of  nature  study  can  be  secured 
without  making  this  distinction.  ^ 

III.  Nature  Study  as  a  Purpose 

Considered  as  a  purpose,  nature  study  is  a  mis- 
nomer, and  does  not  mean,  primarily,  a  subject  of  study, 
but  a  philosophy  in  education,  a  point  of  view,  an 
attitude,  a  purpose.  It  is  spirit,  not  subject  matter. 
Things  are  taught  for  the  sake  of  the  child  rather  than 
to  promulgate  knowledge.  From  this  point  of  view, 
things  and  phenomena  are  studied  merely  incidentally 
as  means  to  ends.  The  intention  is  to  broaden  the 
horizon,  the  outlook,  the  experience  of  the  child. 
Pencil  and  paper  will  not  be  needed;  only  the  senses 
and  the  mind  processes.  Facts,  truths,  feelings,  ideals, 
and  convictions  will  be  registered  on  the  tablets  of 
the  heart. 2 

"Consider  the  end,"  says  the  philosopher  in  refer- 
ence to  the  purpose  for  which  the  child  is  brought  into 
contact  with  nature  materials  or  phenomena.  Thus, 
various  aims  have  been  enunciated  as  desirable  goals 
to  be  realized  through  child  development  by  the  teach- 
ing of  nature  study.  Various  philosophies  of  the  pres- 
ent and  the  past  have  caused  constant  shifting  in  the 
point  of  view  and  consequently  in  the  aims  of  nature 

1  In  this  connection,  the  reader  is  referred  to  an  interesting  article 
written  by  C.  F.  Hodge  in  The  Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  7,  pp.  208- 
228,  entitled  Foundations  of  Nature  Study,  wherein  he  discusses 
various  methods  in  teaching  nature  study. 

*  Bailey,  L.  H.:  The  Nature-StiuLy  Idea,  1909,  pp.  6,  13-14,  30. 


68  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION    FOR  TEACHERS 

study.  Among  the  most  prominent,  the  following 
aims  may  be  named:  the  religious,  the  ethical,  the 
mental-discipline,  the  sentimental,  the  aesthetic,  the 
cultural,  the  knowledge,  the  utility,  and  the  scientific- 
method. 

The  religious  aim  ^  was  perhaps  the  first  one  to 
be  accepted — historically  considered — as  the  true  pur- 
pose to  be  realized  in  child  development  through  na- 
ture study.  Doubtless  this  purpose  comes  to  us  from 
Puritan  times,  when  the  study  and  teaching  of  tem- 
poral things  were  permitted  only  on  the  plea  that 
they  contributed  to  the  religious  instincts  of  the  child. 
All  other  aims  were  considered  subordinate  to  this  one. 
The  study  of  nature  was  considered  to  have  missed 
its  highest  purpose  unless  it  led  the  child  from  nature 
to  the  Author  of  nature.  Unless  the  seen  pointed  the 
child  to  the  Unseen,  from  care  and  protection  to  a 
Protector,  from  function  and  action  to  a  Prime  Mover, 
from  purpose  and  plan  to  a  Planner, — nature  did 
not  reveal  its  greatest  thought  or  grandest  lesson  of 
omniscient  law  and  eternal  unity.  So  through  na- 
ture study,  God  revealed  his  wonderful  works  to  the 
children  of  men.  The  high  regard  in  which  astronomy 
was  once  held  in  popular  education  doubtless  owed 

1  Scott's  Nature  Study  and  the  Child,  pp.  37,  116,  118.  Hodge, 
Clifton  F. :  Nature  Study  and  Life,  p.  30.  Foght,  Harold  Waldstein : 
The  Rural  School  of  the  Twentieth  Century,  p.  160.  McMurray,  Chas. 
A. :  Special  Method  in  Elementary  Science,  p.  8.  Ira  Benton  Meyers  in 
The  Elementary  School  Teacher,  Vol.  XI,  p.  209. 


NATURE  STUDY  69 

its  popularity  to  this  notion.  It  is,  without  doubt, 
true  that  the  fundamental  sentiments  on  which  the 
highest  religion  rests  are  best  developed  in  children 
by  the  use  of  the  noblest  objects  in  nature. 

The  ethical  aim  ^  is  closely  associated  with  the  re- 
ligious aim  and  doubtless  followed  it  historically. 
The  admiration  of  the  wonders  of  creation  that  resulted 
in  love  and  obedience  to  the  Creator  was  maintained 
to  have  a  desirable  reaction  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
child  in  his  relations  with  his  fellows.  The  humani- 
tarian element  would  be  awakened,  especially  through 
experience  with  animal  life.  Sympathy  and  affection 
for  pets  would  induce  the  child  to  be  kind  and  gentle 
in  his  attitude  toward  animal  life  generally,  and  any 
disposition  to  kill  or  injure  would  be  overcome. 

The  mental-discipline  aim  ^  came  next  and  held  sway 
during  the  time  when  the  formal-discipline  theory 
held  a  dominant  place  in  the  educational  world.  Since 
the  sciences,  as  botany,  chemistry,  and  physics,  were 
regarded  as  having  high  "disciplinary  value,"  of 
course,  nature  study,   or  elementary  science,  which 

^  See  Ira  Benton  Meyers  in  The  Elementary  School  Teacher,  Vol.  VI, 
p.  260.  Hodge's  Nature  Study  and  Life,  pp.  28-30.  Schmucker, 
Samuel  Christian:  The  Study  of  Nature,  pp.  41-44.  J.  B.  Lippincott 
Co.,  Philadelphia,  1908.  Holtz,  Frederick  L.:  Nature  Study,  1908, 
pp.  18-20,  also  Chap.  III.  Jackman,  Wilbur  S.:  Nature  Study,  1894, 
p.  4.    Henry  Holt  and  Company,  New  York. 

2  Meyers,  I.  B.,  in  The  Elementary  School  Teacher,  XI,  p.  212.  New- 
man, Ibid.,  p.  193.  Holtz,  Frederick:  Nature  Study,  1908,  pp.  12-13. 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York. 


70  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

dealt  with  the  same  materials  as  these  sciences,  was 
also  considered  to  have  a  high  disciplinary  value. 

The  sentimental  aim  ^  is  reached  when  the  child, 
through  the  study  of  nature  materials,  comes  into 
possession  of  a  nature-sympathy,  a  love,  a  prejudice 
in  favor  of  his  natural  environments.  This  sympa- 
thetic attitude  toward  nature  enhances  the  joy  of 
living. 

The  aesthetic  aim  ^  leads  children  to  see  and  feel 
the  beautiful  in  nature  to  the  end  that  life  may  be- 
come more  joyful.  "The  psychological  genesis  of  a 
genuine  love  of  nature  is  the  crowning  result  of  nature 
study,"  says  one  author. 

The  cultural  aim  results  from  the  fact  that  the 
objects  constituting  the  materials  of  nature  study 
may  be  widely  chosen — from  any  natural  environ- 
ment— and  the  natural  environment  is  quite  universal. 
To  a  great  degree,  common  knowledge  and  experience 
and  reactions  come  into  the  possession  of  a  vast  major- 
ity of  the  members  of  the  race.  This  common  knowl- 
edge of  nature  that  all  men  should  possess  stands  for 
a  given  kind  of  culture,  which  nature  study  enhances. 

The  observational  aim.^ — ^The  cultivation  of  the 
habit  of  observing  closely  and  accurately  is  held  by 

1  Bailey,  L.  H.:  The  Nature-Study  Idea,  igog,  pp.  5,  28. 

2  Holtz's  Nature  Study,  pp.  14-16,  Chapter  III. 

'  See  Hugo  Newman  in  The  Elementary  School  Teacher,  Vol.  6, 
p.  192.  Mrs.  L.  L.  Wilson:  Nature  Study  in  Elementary  Schools, 
p.  4  (adverse).  Holtz's  Nature  Study,  pp.  8-9.  Chas.  A.  McMurray's 
Special  Method  in  Elementary  Science,  p.  7. 


NATURE  STUDY  7 1 

many  to  be  the  chief  aim  of  nature  study.  Others 
hold  that  the  acquiring  of  knowledge  about  one's 
natural  surroundings  constitutes  its  chief  aim  and 
may  be  designated  as  the  knowledge  aim.  Still  others 
qualify  the  knowledge  aim  and  insist  that  it  must 
possess  a  utilitarian  value,  that,  when  exercised  by 
the  possessor,  it  may  yield  economic  results;  and  this 
may  be  designated  as  the  economic  aim.  Finally,  we 
have  the  scientific-method  aim  in  which  the  study 
of  Nature  in  her  innumerable  forms  and  manifesta- 
tions develops  in  the  child  the  inquiring  spirit  for 
fact  and  truth.  When  these  are  discovered,  they 
should  be  methodically  classified  into  systems.^ 

The  four  aims  mentioned  and  explained  in  the  fore- 
going paragraph  are  not  usually  accepted  by  the  philo- 
sophic school,  who  insist  that  these  are  only  means 
to  higher  ends — as  being  only  rungs  in  the  golden  lad- 
der by  which  the  spirit-heaven  of  nature  is  reached, 
i.  e.,  the  attainment  of  one  or  more  of  the  various  aims 
above  considered.  ^  While  these  various  aims  doubt- 
less contribute  to  the  development  of  desirable  quali- 
ties in  the  chUd,  they  may  be  regarded  merely  as  means 

^Holtz's  Nature  Study,  p.  6.  Hodge's  Nature  Study  and  Life, 
pp.  2-18.  McMurray's  Special  Method  in  Elementary  Science,  pp.  8- 
18. 

"^  Mrs.  L.  L.  Wilson:  Nature  Study  in  Elementary  Schools,  p.  4. 
Bailey's  The  Nature-Study  Idea,  pp.  31-32.  McMurray's  Special 
Method  in  Elementary  Science,  p.  18.  A  good  statement  of  aims  in 
nature  study  will  be  found  in  Scott's  Nature  Study  and  the  Child, 
Chap.  IV. 


72  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

to  other  ends.  They  seem  to  regard  the  materials  of 
study  rather  than  the  child:  the  child  is  developed, 
not  for  his  own  inherent  sake,  but  that  he  may  become 
more  capable  of  making  investigations  in  the  higher 
forms  of  science. 

rV.  Nature  Study  as  Science 

Those  who  place  emphasis  upon  the  methodical 
arrangement  of  the  materials  of  study  in  nature  study 
are  apt  to  consider  the  whole  subject  as  elementary 
science.  In  some  cases  these  persons  have  succeeded 
in  building  up  what  they  consider  a  methodical  ar- 
rangement of  subjects  pertaining  to  nature  to  be  sys- 
tematically pursued  through  the  various  grades  of  the 
elementary  school.^ 

It  should  be  noticed  that  this  school  of  nature-study 
people  does  not  regard  the  subject  as  a  science,  but  as 
elementary  science.  The  term  is  used  in  a  general 
sense.  It  considers  the  commonest,  most  evident 
facts  and  principles  of  the  natural  world,  no  matter 
where  they  are  manifested,  or  in  what  particular  field 
of  science  they  may  be  classified.  The  study  of  nature 
coincides  in  part  with  all  the  sciences,  but  with  none 
of  them  wholly. 

The  following  diagram  represents  the  field  of  nature 
study  in  its  relations  to  the  various  sciences: 

^  See  Otis  W.  Caldwell  in  Natural  History  in  the  Grades,  The 
Elementary  School  Teacher,  Vol.  lo,  p.  131  (adverse). 


NATURE  STUDY 


73 


THE 

FIELD   OP    SCIENTIFIC 

KNOWLEDOK 

r-i                   ^                   ;-,                                                           Scientific 

A     M     A     n     A     n     r. 

1  >'  \ 

. 

r\ 

\ 

A 

A 

Coilegiat* 
Soi«nc«. 
(Vocational) 

/      «     \ 
/       o      \ 

h' 

h\ 

h\ 

/=\ 

/A 

/A 

Secondary 
{?re-Totii!SS!l) 

/        ^        1 
f          m         \ 

' 

\ 

/  M 

/     M 

/  ° 

/  :\ 

Eleni.   Science. 
(Differentiation 
Begin.) 

< 

o 

m 

« 

N 

< 

Nature   Study- 
whence   all   eci- 
encea    eiierge. 

The  materials  for  study  may  be  drawn  from  the  fields 
of  any  or  all  the  natural  sciences.  Its  field  is  the 
whole  physical  environment — the  whole  world  of  na- 
ture.^ It  partakes  of  the  beginnings  of  many  sciences. 
Thus  nature  study  may  include  materials  and  phe- 
nomena that  are  agricultural,  or  that  are  classed  in 
any  of  the  other  great  natural  sciences,  as  botany, 
zoology,  astronomy,  chemistry,  physics,  geology,  etc. 
Nature  study  because  of  its  relations  to  them  may 
be  made  a  valuable  course  in  the  first  steps  of  many 
of  the  physical  sciences.  It  is  from  this  relationship 
that  we  doubtless  get  the  term  elementary  science  as  a 
synonym  of  nature  study. 

"  The  relations  of  nature  study  to  elementary  agri- 
cultixre  is  a  study  of  nature's  material  in  its  natyral 
setting.  It  is  a  many-sided  subject,  involving  various 
phases  of  education  among  which  agriculture  deserves 
prominence.     Strictly  speaking,  nature  study  is  not 


1  Jackman's  Nature  Study,  pp.  8-9,  29-438.  Comstock,  Anna 
Botsford:  Handbook  of  Nature  Study,  pp.  938,  191 1.  Comstock 
Publishing  Company,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 


74  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

agriculture,  but  this  does  not  prevent  it  from  being  of 
great  value  for  agricultural  purposes.  Teachers  who 
confine  the  work  largely  to  agricultural  material  in- 
corporate an  economic  factor  which  results  in  the 
work  becoming  a  forenmner  to  and  a  part  of  agricul- 
ture." 1 

Review  of  Chapter  VII 

Concerning  elementary  agriculture  and  nature  study — 

Which  was  first  taught  in  the  public  schools?  What  is 
the  present  status  of  each  as  a  school  subject?  Show  how 
elementary  agriculture  came  to  be  taught  as  nature  study. 
What  is  meant  by  "agricultural  nature  study"?  What  is 
nature  study?  Explain  nature  study  as  a  purpose.  Name 
and  discuss  the  leading  aims  of  nature  study.  Explain 
nature  study  as  a  science.  Locate  the  zone  of  each  in  the 
field  of  knowledge.  Explain  the  relations  of  nature  study 
and  elementary  agriculture. 

^  S.  A.  Minear  in  Nature  Study,  Aug.,  1912.  Oklahoma  A.  &  M. 
College,  Stillwater. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
WHAT  IS  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE? 

An  analogy  ^  may  assist  in  the  better  understanding 
of  elementary  agriculture,  its  field,  its  purpose,  and 
its  contents.  In  mathematics,  we  teach  numbers 
to  the  beginner  in  the  first  grades  of  the  elementary 
school.  Later  on,  when  the  child  has  learned  to  count, 
to  identify  the  symbols  of  numbers  and  their  names, 
we  gradually  introduce  him  to  the  processes  of  ad- 
dition, subtraction,  multiplication,  and  division.  Here 
we  are  teaching  the  fundamentals  of  a  great  science — 
mathematics.  When  these  fundamentals  of  arithmetic 
have  been  mastered,  the  child  is  taught  their  wider 
applications  in  the  grammar  school. 

The  number  stage  in  arithmetic  represents  the  nature- 
study  period  in  agriculture,  and  we  may  designate 
this  work  in  the  lower  grades  of  the  elementary  school 
by  the  term  agricultural  nature  study.  Later  on,  the 
simple,  elemental  objects,  facts,  principles,  and  proc- 
esses of  agriculture  are  studied.  We  may  call  this 
elementary  agriculture.  In  the  high  school  the  study 
of  agriculture  as  a  science,  an  art,  and  a  business  is 

1  See  Dr.  A.  C.  True  in  Addresses  and  Proceedings  of  the  National 
Education  Association  for  igo8,  p.  1204. 

75 


76  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

undertaken  in  a  more  comprehensive  and  serious  way, 
and  this  is  designated  as  secondary  agriculture. 

The  simple  number  work  in  the  primary  grades 
may  not  properly  be  called  arithmetic;  neither  may 
the  nature-study  work  with  agricultural  objects  of 
the  lower  grades  of  the  elementary  school  be  prop- 
erly regarded  as  elementary  agriculture;  it  is  rightly 
called  agricultural  nature  study.  As  number  work 
forms  an  indispensable  basis  for  later  work  in  ele- 
mentary arithmetic,  so  agricultural  nature  study 
performs  a  similar  duty  to  elementary  agriculture. 
Number  work  should  be  differentiated  from  the  tech- 
nical science  of  arithmetic,  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  nature  study  la  reference  to  agriculture. 

The  materials  for  study  in  elementary  agriculture 
are  the  common,  everj^day  things  with  which  the 
children  hving  on  farms  and  in  villages  are  ac- 
quainted. Some  of  these  things  are:  the  proper 
time  for  planting  and  harvesting  crops;  the  appear- 
ance of  various  seeds,  fruits,  plants,  and  animals  in 
their  various  stages  of  development;  the  different 
kinds  of  soil;  the  use  of  manure;  the  uses  and  the  struc- 
ture  of  the   common   agricultural   implements,   etc.^ 

More  than  a  sympathetic  acquaintance  with  these 
things  will  be  developed  in  the  elementary  study  of 
agriculture,  because  the  child  is  now  undertaking 
the  study  of  a  science.     Not  only  should  the  names, 

1  See  the  author's  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High  School, 
pp.  2-5. 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE  77 

uses,  striking  characteristics,  morphology,  and  habits 
of  the  physical  and  the  biological  objects  of  the  farm 
and  their  economic  importance  to  man  be  observed, 
but  a  system  of  elementary  facts,  principles,  and  laws 
should  be  built  up  in  the  mind  of  the  child.  The 
spirit  of  inquiry  for  reasons  should  be  encouraged, 
and,  from  the  results  of  investigations  for  the  "why," 
elemental  deductions  should  be  made,  and  these  im- 
pressed upon  the  student  as  being  fundamental  to 
agriculture. 

The  how  as  well  as  the  why  should  receive  considera- 
tion in  elementary  agriculture,  for  agriculture  is  an 
art  as  well  as  a  science.  Here  belong  the  school  gar- 
den and  the  simple  home  projects.  The  processes  and 
methods  of  farm  and  garden  work  and  its  management 
must  be  taught  by  insisting  upon  the  actual  perform- 
ance by  the  pupils  themselves.  The  theory  is  learned  by 
study,  by  explanation,  and  by  demonstration;  but 
the  practice  may  be  learned  only  by  actual  doing. 
The  method  is  no  longer  observational  as  in  nature 
study,  but  industrial.  Ability  to  execute  and  the 
formation  of  habits  are  realized  in  the  individual  pupils 
by  their  performing  physical  acts;  and  when  these  are 
done  in  obedience  to  instruction,  better  understanding 
of  the  principles  involved  will  invariably  result. 

But  agriculture  is  not  only  a  science  and  an  art; 
it  is  also  a  business,  and  therefore  economic.  Of  this 
phase  elementary  agriculture  must  also  take  cogni- 
zance.    Industry  and  knowledge  appHed  together  on 


78  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

the  farm  must  result  economically.  To  this  end, 
pupils  in  the  elementary  school  should  be  given  home 
projects,  the  success  of  which  should  be  measured 
in  terms  of  profit. 

The  method  of  teaching  nature  study  is  observational; 
that  of  elementary  agriculture  is  industrial  and  scien- 
tific. Agriculture  is  predominantly  a  utilitarian  sub- 
ject, and  utiUty  should  be  emphasized  in  the  methods 
employed  in  teaching  it.  The  aim  of  teaching  nature 
study  is  to  afford  an  acquaintance  with,  and  an  in- 
terest in,  the  common  things  of  nature;  but  elemen- 
tary agriculture  adds  to  this  an  economic  aim  as  its 
predominating  purpose.  Nature  study  differentiates 
from  technical  science;  but  elementary  agriculture 
consciously  and  definitely  teaches  the  beginnings  of  a 
science.  Nature  study  should  be  taught  for  the  child; 
but  elementary  agriculture  should  be  taught  for  the 
adult  into  which  the  child  will  eventually  develop.^ 
As  Dean  Davenport  puts  it:  "Agriculture,  even  in  the 
grades,  is  something  more  than  ordinary  nature  study. 
It  is  nature  study  plus  utility.  It  is  nature  study  with 
an  economic  significance.  It  is  nature  study  which 
articulates  with  the  affairs  of  real  men  in  real  life. 
It  is  nature  study  in  which  the  child  may  influence 
the  process.  It  is  nature  study  which  distinctly  stim- 
ulates industry."  ^ 

»  See  A.  W.  Nolan  in  The  Rural  Educator,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  8. 
2  Davenport,  E.:  Education  for  Efficiency,  p.  139.    Heath,  Boston, 
1909.    Chapter  VIII. 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE  79 

Elementary  agriculture  is  not  a  catchall  for  all 
sorts  of  subjects.  The  tendency  in  some  quarters 
for  administrators,  supervisors,  and  teachers  to  in- 
clude under  "elementary  agriculture"  all  sorts  of  sub- 
jects foreign  to  the  study,  as  domestic  science,  morals 
and  manners,  physiology,  etc.,  cannot  be  too  severely 
condemned. 

Agricultiire  is  the  science,  art,  and  business  of  pro- 
ducing the  largest  quantity  and  best  quality  of  raw 
materials  for  food,  clothing,  shelter,  and  the  aesthetic 
enjoyment  of  man,  from  the  smallest  area  of  land 
through  the  least  expenditure  of  money,  effort,  and 
deterioration  of  the  soil.  Elementary  agriculture 
strives,  in  a  small  way,  to  realize  this  ideal  with  be- 
ginners. Their  faces  should  be  set  in  this  direction, 
which  is  a  goal  to  be  attained  after  many  years  of  study 
and  practice.  Elementary  agriculture  is  the  stud>  and 
practice  of  some  of  the  simpler  elementary  scientific 
principles  of  agriculture. 

Review  of  Chapter  VIII 

Give  the  author's  view  on — 

The  analogy  existing  between  school  agriculture  and 
arithmetic.  The  materials  for  study  in  elementary  agricul- 
ture. Emphasizing  the  how  and  the  why.  The  threefold 
nature  of  agriculture.  The  differentiation  of  methods 
in  teaching  elementary  agriculture  and  nature  study. 
The  things  to  be  included  and  taught  under  the  term, 
**  elementary  agriculture."    The  definition  of  agriculture. 


CHAPTER  IX 
AGRICULTURE  AS  A  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION 

That  the  subject  of  agriculture,  properly  taught, 
is  an  efficient  means  to  employ  in  the  formal  educa- 
tion of  the  youth  is  now  coming  to  be  generally  recog- 
nized. It  has  long  been  suspected,  and  in  recent  years 
it  has  been  urged  by  prominent  educators,  that  agri- 
cultural materials  may  be  employed  in  the  education 
of  school  children  quite  as  advantageously  as  those 
of  any  other  subject.  The  inadequacy  of  agriculture 
as  a  science  can  no  longer  be  urged  against  its  being 
taught  in  the  pubhc  schools.  If  it  is  still  maintained 
that  the  constituents  of  physical  and  biological  sciences 
may  be  used  to  contribute  valuable  elements  toward 
the  education  of  our  children,  then  agriculture,  which 
,  is  both  physical  and  biological,  offers  a  double  reason 
for  seeking  and  maintaining  a  place  in  the  program 
of  studies. 

Agriculture  as  a  desirable  subject  for  public  school 
instruction  offers  a  double  sanction  from  another 
point  of  view:  it  may  be  both  vocational  and  cultural. 
A  double  purpose  may  be  served:  through  education 
in  agriculture  a  utihtarian  purpose  may  be  reached 
in  the  production  of  a  scientific  farmer;  on  the  other 
hand  the  impartation  of  ideas  and  ideals  of  beauty, 

80 


AGRICULTURE  AS  A  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION     8 1 

of  sympathy,  of  ethics,  and  of  service  by  means  of 
this  subject  may  result  in  an  individual  possessing 
a  high  type  of  culture.  There  is  no  good  reason  why 
the  vocational  and  the  cultural  aims  may  not  both  be 
realized  in  the  same  individual.  It  is  not  the  function 
of  education  in  agriculture  to  produce  more  hogs 
and  com  per  acre  at  a  greater  profit  with  the  least 
expenditure  of  energy  and  the  minimum  diminution 
of  soil  fertility  only;  but  to  educate  men  and  women 
to  live  more  efhciently  both  as  individuals  and  as  social 
units.  Taught  as  a  strictly  vocational  subject,  agri- 
culture contributes  to  the  economic  efficiency  of  the 
individual,  while  taught  as  a  Hberal  subject,  it  min- 
isters to  his  social  efficiency.^ 

The  educational  value  of  agriculture  as  a  fit  subject 
for  purposes  of  formal  school  instruction  ought  to  be 
determined  by  the  same  pedagogical  standards  that  are 
applied  to  those  subjects  now  generally  used  in  such 
instruction.  The  subjects  that  are  now  sanctioned 
by  most  educators  are  such  as  directly  contribute 
to  the  realization  of  the  accepted  aim  or  aims  of 
education,  or  as  may  be  indirectly  used  as  a  means 
to  these  aims.  In  order  to  show  the  relationship 
that  the  subject  of  agriculture  may  bear  to  the  final 
results  of  the  educative  process,  it  is  merely  necessary 

^  See  W.  H.  Jordan  in  "  The  Function  and  Efficiency  of  the  Agricul- 
tural College,"  Science,  Vol.  XXXIV,  p.  785;  and  especially  D.  J. 
Crosby  in  the  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  N.  E.  A. 
for  1910,  p.  I 105. 

AGRIC.   EDUC. — 6 


82  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

to  show  how  the  subject  may  be  made  to  contribute 
to  the  various  aims  or  ends  of  education.  If  agricul- 
ture may  be  made  a  potent  factor  in  the  process  of 
realizing  the  aims  or  ends  of  education,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  then  there  can  be  no  legitimate  reason 
why  it  should  not  be  used  in  the  formal  instruction 
of  the  children  in  our  schools. 

The  aims  of  education  are  various,  according  to  the 
point  of  view  of  many  philosophers  and  educators. 
A  catalogue^ of  all  the  aims  of  education  that  have 
been  advanced  by  philosophers  and  educators  with  the 
briefest  consideration  of  each  would  be  not  only  out 
of  place  here,  but  wholly  unnecessary.  For  our  purpose, 
only  a  few  of  the  most  important  as  advocated  to-day 
by  philosophers,  educators,  and  the  popular  mind, 
will  be  considered.  The  most  important  of  these  are: 
the  aims  of  earning  a  livelihood,  of  gaining  knowledge, 
of  developing  the  mind,  of  complete  and  harmonious 
development,  of  refinement,  of  culture,  of  ethical  train- 
ing, of  individual  adjustment,  and  of  social  service.^ 

(a)  The  livelihood  aim. — The  aim  of  earning  a  hv- 
ing,  sometimes  designated  "the  bread-and-butter  aim," 
appeals  with  especial  force  to  the  poor,  to  those  people 

^  For  a  discussion  of  these  various  aims  of  education  see  the  fol- 
lowing references:  Bagley,  W.  C:  The  Educative  Process,  Chapter  III. 
O'Shea,  M.  V.:  Education  as  Adjustment,  pp.  57-98.  Raymont, 
T.:  The  Meaning  of  Education,  Chapter  I.  Thorndike,  Edward  L.: 
Education,  Chapters  II  and  III.  Henderson,  Ernest  Norton:  A 
Textbook  in  the  Principles  of  Education,  Chapter  I.  Ruediger, 
William  Carl:  The  Principles  of  Education,  Chapters  III,  IV,  and  V. 


AGRICULTURE  AS  A  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION  83 

who  are  possessed  with  only  a  moderate  amount 
of  wealth,  to  the  practical  man  of  affairs,  and  to 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  common  people.  With  these 
classes,  the  economic  problem  of  existence  is  a  very 
important  one.  Their  greatest  wealth  is  in  the  per- 
sonal power  of  the  individual — ^power  or  ability  to 
cam  a  living.  The  schooling  of  their  children,  they 
say,  should  fit  them  to  get  on  in  the  world. 

To  the  people  who  hold  this  aim  as  the  end  of  edu- 
cation, the  subject  of  agriculture  as  a  means  to  this 
end  should  be  especially  attractive.  Applied  agricul- 
ture is  essentially  productive.  Granted  the  necessary 
soil,  the  young  man  provided  with  a  training  in  the 
science  and  practice  of  agriculture  is  able  to  earn  a 
living  by  the  most  fundamental  occupation.  The 
farmer  is  best  able  to  provide  for  himself  the  primitive 
necessities  of  food,  clothing,  and  shelter. 

(b)  The  knowledge  aim. — The  aim  of  acquiring 
knowledge  as  an  end  in  itself  has  been  called  the  school- 
master's aim.  "Knowledge  is  power,"  and  those 
who,  by  habit  and  occupation,  are  engaged  in  gaining 
knowledge  and  in  teaching  others  are  apt  to  regard 
its  acquisition  as  an  end  in  itself  without  regard  to 
the  deeper  and  more  significant  meaning  of  their  motto. 

What  a  wealth  of  knowledge — facts,  principles, 
laws,  practice — agriculture  offers  for  the  realization 
of  this  aim!  A  lifetime  of  reading,  study,  observation, 
and  experimentation  will  not  encompass  all  there  is 
to  be  known  in  this  science  and  art. 


84  AGRICULTUIL'VL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

(c)  The  mind-development  aim. — The  most  strik- 
ing difference  between  the  educated  and  the  unedu- 
cated individual  is  the  superior  ability  of  the  former 
to  think  and  understand.  The  popular  mind  has 
always  recognized  this.  Hence,  the  "development 
of  the  mind"  has  come  to  be  accepted  as  an  end  of 
education.  The  acquisition  of  knowledge,  power  of 
expression,  and  interpreting  skill  are  concomitant 
and  fundamental  to  this  aim. 

Much  in  the  same  way  that  agriculture  may  serve 
the  knowledge  aim,  might  it  also  serve  the  mind- 
development  aim.  As  long  as  the  almost  inexhaustible 
subject  of  agriculture  presents  new  things  to  be  learned, 
the  individual  may  continue  to  whet  and  expand  his 
intellect. 

(d)  Complete  and  harmonious  development. — ^This  aim 
of  education  goes  further  than  the  one  immediately 
above,  because  it  insists  upon  the  complete  and  sym- 
metrical development  of  all  the  powers  of  man,  physi- 
cal, mental,  and  moral.  This  is  the  aim  of  education 
as  set  forth  by  Plato.  It  seeks  to  "give  to  the  body 
and  the  soul  all  the^beauty  and  all  the  perfection  of 
which  they  are  capable."  Thus  only  may  a  human 
being  be  prepared  for  complete  living. 

If  this  be  held  as  the  true  aim  and  end  of  education, 
then  most  certainly  should  the  youth  be  taught  agri- 
culture; otherwise,  he  will  be  unsymmetrically  and 
incompletely  developed.  On  the  other  hand,  since 
agriculture  is  so   varied   that  it  touches  almost  all 


AGRICULTURE  AS  A  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION     85 

phases  of  life,  and  since  it  is  so  great  that  it  is  quite 
inexhaustible  in  educative  materials  and  possibilities 
of  experience,  no  other  subject  offers  greater  oppor- 
tunities for  the  complete  and  harmonious  development 
of  man's  mind,  might,  and  morals. 

(e)  The  refinement  aim. — Refinement  as  the  end 
of  education  is  perhaps  best  typified  by  our  ideal  of 
the  English  gentleman,  who  is  supposed  to  be  gentle, 
courteous,  sympathetic,  considerate,  and  handsome; 
possessing  refinement  of  thought  and  feeling,  gracious- 
ness  of  speech  and  manner;  in  short,  exhibiting  all  those 
qualities  that  make  his  intercourse  with  others  most 
agreeable. 

What  has  agriculture  to  contribute  to  this  aim? 
For  a  certain  genuine  hospitality,  considerate  and 
knightly  conduct,  sympathetic  and  gentle  treatment, 
people  of  the  best  rural  breeding  have  always  been 
famous.  Communion  with  Nature  as  she  manifests 
herself  through  plant  and  animal  life;  the  considera- 
tion of  her  phenomenal  expressions  through  her  inert 
physical  garments  of  soil,  water,  air,  heat,  and  light; 
the  knowledge  of  her  simple  mysteries  and  her  astound- 
ing resourcefulness, — all  these  things  tend  to  build 
up  those  ideals  so  necessary  for  the  person  of  refine- 
ment. The  study  of  agriculture  as  a  mode  of  life  and 
the  consideration  of  rural  social  institutions,  which  are 
primarily  based  upon  the  agricultural  industry,  add 
the  human  element  of  the  highest  type,  designed  es- 
pecially for  the  realization  of  rural  refinement. 


86  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

(f)  The  cultural  aim. — During  the  progress  of  the 
centuries,  the  schools  have  gradually  assembled  cer- 
tain fixed  items  of  knowledge  and  conventional  ex- 
periences of  the  race,  the  acquisition  of  which  is  called 
culture.  They  are  the  things  that  every  educated 
person  should  know.  In  fact,  an  educated  person  as 
judged  by  this  aim  should  know  something  about 
all  those  things  that  are  generally  accepted  as  the 
common  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  race. 

A  large  portion  of  this  common  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience is  contributed  by  the  science  and  practice 
of  agriculture.  Therefore,  no  one  can  be  considered 
educated  who  is  ignorant  of  the  elementary  principles 
concerned  in  the  economic  production  of  the  common 
things  of  the  farm.  The  city  youth  who  went  to  visit 
his  country  uncle,  and  in  an  attempt  to  demonstrate 
his  interest  in  his  relative's  affairs,  remarked,  when 
the  honey  was  passed  to  him  at  dinner,  "I  see  you 
keep  a  bee,"  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  educated. 
The  question  alone  arises  as  to  how  much  of  agricul- 
ture the  average  educated  individual  should  be  ex- 
pected to  know. 

"Agriculture  is  one  of  the  most  Hberal  studies  for 
doctors,  lawyers,  merchants,  teachers,  and  ministers. 
Probably  no  other  subject  appeals  to  so  many  persons. 
The  interest  in  agriculture  includes  nearly  all  the 
population.  A  very  large  part  of  our  city  population, 
particularly  the  larger  cities,  is  coming  to  take  the 
keenest  interest  in  agricultural  questions.  *  *  *    The 


AGRICULTURE  AS  A  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION     87 

movement  for  the  ownership  and  management  of 
farms  by  city  men  is  remarkable.  Nearly  every  one 
is  interested  in  growing  plants  and  animals,  and  there 
are  some  fundamental  principles  of  this  growth  that 
every  boy  and  girl  should  have  an  opportunity  to 
learn,  if  they  so  desire;  not  that  they  may  become 
farmers  or  farmers'  wives,  but  for  the  educational 
training  and  intellectual  interest  in  Hfe  that  this  knowl- 
edge brings.  This  training  is  often  as  desirable  for 
those  who  are  to  live  in  cities  as  for  those  who  are  to 
live  on  farms.  We  can  never  wholly  separate  our 
interests  from  the  soil  on  which  we  walk,  and  the 
plants  and  animals  on  which  our  life  depends."  ^ 

It  has  been  said  that  an  educated  person  is  one  who 
knows  much  about  one  department  of  human  experi- 
ence and  something  about  many  others.  There  is 
perhaps  no  other  subject  through  which  this  ideal  may 
be  so  well  reaHzed  as  the  subject  of  agriculture,  since 
it  touches  so  many  phases  of  human  Ufe  and  involves 
so  many  other  sciences. 

(g)  The  ethical-training  aim.^ — Aristotle  saw  the  need 
for  the  practical  virtue  of  the  citizen  in  his  daily  life. 
To  secure  this  end  it  was  assumed  that  education  could 
mold  the  character  of  the  young  citizen  so  that  the 

^George  F.  Warren  in  The  Place  of  Agriculture  in  the  Public  High 
Schools,  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  N.  E.  A.,  19 10, 
p.  1098. 

^Herbart,  John  Frederick  (Translated  by  Alexis  F.  Lange  and 
annotated  by  Charles  De  Garmo) :  Outlines  of  Educational  Doctrine, 
1909;  p.  7  et  seq.   The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 


88  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

practice  of  virtue  between  man  and  man  should  be 
assured.  This  view  was  also  emphasized  by  the  great 
educator,  Herbart. 

Agriculture  as  a  mode  of  life,  in  which  individuals 
constantly  come  into  social  contact,  has  abundant 
material  serviceable  for  ethical  instruction.  Agricul- 
ture is  also  a  business,  and  no  field  of  human  endeavor 
presents  so  great  variety  of  opportunities  for  ethical 
training,  nor  is  there  any  in  which  this  training  is  more 
needed.  Closely  related  to  this  aim  is  the  religious 
basis  of  moral  character.  In  the  contemplation  of 
hfe,  and  in  studying  its  forms  and  the  conditions  of 
better  growth  and  development,  the  youth  secures  a 
truer  and  clearer  conception  of  his  relation  to  his  and 
Nature's  God.  Life  in  all  its  forms  comes  to  have  a 
fuller  and  more  serious  meaning,  and  life  in  its  special 
form  of  human  existence  comes  to  have  a  loftier  and 
more  sacred  significance,  which  ought  to  influence  for 
good  the  relations  of  the  individual  with  his  fellows.^ 

(h)  The  individual-adjustment  aim.^ — From  birth  till 
death,  man  and  his  world  need  to  be  in  constant, 
harmonious  adjustment  to  each  other.  An  individ- 
ual's well-being  is  at  all  times  conditioned  by  the 
forces  operating  in  his  environment,  and  education 
must  prepare  him  to  put  himself  into  sympathetic 
relations   with   these,   and   to   turn   them   to  profit- 

'  See  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High  School,  p.  i8i. 
"O'Shea,  M.  V.:  Education  as  Adjiistinent,  1903,  pp.  317.    Long- 
mans, Green,  and  Company,  New  York. 


AGRICULTURE  AS  A  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION  89 

able  account.  The  man  is  best  educated,  therefore, 
who  can  best  secure  this  harmonious  adjustment  to 
his  own  greatest  comfort  and  happiness.  The  in- 
dividual is  the  acting  agent  in  securing  this  adjust- 
ment, for  life  implies  the  power  and  necessity  of 
adaptation.  The  child  comes  into  the  world  with  no 
knowledge  of  the  conditions  for  securing  harmoni- 
ous adjustments  with  his  environment,  and  his  educa- 
tion immediately  begins  and  continues  throughout  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  During  his  youth,  society  through 
the  school  is  supposed  to  give  him  systematic  instruc- 
tion concerning  his  life  problem. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  man  can  go  through  life  without 
coming  into  contact  with  agricultural  materials  and 
conditions  to  which  he  must  make  adjustments;  and 
in  the  country,  men  find  the  necessity  for  these  ad- 
justments persistent  and  continuous.  The  study  of 
agriculture  will  assist  the  youth  to  make  the  necessary 
adjustments  to  Nature  and  her  laws  that  he  may  be- 
come a  better  farmer.  Considering  the  matter  socially, 
a  knowledge  of  agriculture  will  give  the  individual 
mastery  of  one  of  the  chief  avenues  of  social  inter- 
course, since  agriculture  fills  a  large  sphere  in  the  life 
interest  of  our  people. 

(i)  The  social-service  aim. — Social  efficiency  has 
been  proposed  as  the  ultimate  aim  of  education.  The 
minimum  requirement  of  a  socially  efficient  individual 
is  that  he  must  be  self-sustaining,  not  merely  eco- 
nomically, but  socially.     Besides  this,  he  must  not 


9©  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

block  nor  in  any  way  hinder  the  true  and  legiti- 
mate progress  of  another,  but  it  is  desirable  that 
he  contribute  a  positive  force  in  the  evolution  of  so- 
ciety, and  do  his  share  in  improving  and  satisfying 
human  wants.  ^ 

Industrial  efficiency  is,  of  course,  included  in  the 
aim  now  under  discussion.  Nearly  one  haK  of  the 
people  of  our  nation  are  engaged  in  the  production 
of  the  raw  materials  of  food,  clothing,  and  shelter, 
and  to  be  efficient  to  a  maximum  degree  these  should 
have  a  more  or  less  thorough  education  in  agriculture. 
The  same  statement  also  applies  when  agriculture  is 
considered  as  a  business,  and  as  a  mode  of  living. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  the  individual  may 
render  positive  social  service,  and  through  the  medium 
of  agriculture  he  may  render  service  other  than  eco- 
nomic. The  farmer  who,  in  cooperation  with  the 
Creator,  the  sunshine,  the  rain,  the  air,  and  the  soil, 
produces  luscious,  juicy,  mellow  fruit,  tempting  to 
the  senses  of  taste,  smell,  and  sight,  or  who  produces 
flowers  more  delicate  and  beautiful  than  those  which 
any  painter  ever  reproduced,  or  who  rears  animals 
of  perfect  form  and  surpassing  beauty,  is  an  artist  of 
at  least  equal  merit  with  him  who  paints  a  representa- 
tion of  these  upon  canvas.  The  farmer's  canvas  is  his 
fields,  and  his  art  materials  are  the  soil,  and  the  great 

^  Bagley,  William  Chandler:  The  Educative  Process,  1908,  pp.  58- 
65.  The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York.  Also  Thomdike,  Edward 
L.:  Education,  1912,  pp.  9-15.    The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 


AGRICULTURE  AS  A  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION  91 

forces  wrapped  up  in  the  various  physical  manifesta- 
tions of  Nature.  The  artist-farmer  brings  perennial 
comfort  and  gladness  to  the  countless  millions  of  the 
race.^ 


In  the  foregoing  discussion  of  the  various  aims  of 
education  and  the  relations  that  the  subject  of  agri- 
culture holds  to  them,  together  with  the  manner  in 
which  it  may  contribute  to  their  realization,  I  have 
not  desired  to  offer  any  defense  for  their  validity.  It 
has  been  the  intention  merely  to  show  that  the  subject 
of  agriculture  may  be  used  in  formal  instruction  as  a 
factor  contributory  to  whatever  end  or  aim  of  educa- 
tion might  be  entertained  as  the  real  one  by  those 
in  authority  over  the  schools.  Men  must  be  con- 
vinced of  the  potentiality  of  agriculture  as  a  school 
subject,  no  matter  what  their  notion  of  the  ultimate 
aim  of  education  may  be,  or  whether  it  is  profession- 
ally acceptable  or  not. 

Review  of  Chapter  IX  ' 

Do  you  recall — 

The  double  purpose  that  is  served  by  agricultural  teach- 
ing? The  test  for  determining  whether  a  subject  shall 
be  included  in  the  process  of  educating  an  individual? 
The  various  aims  of  education  that  have  been  or  are 
now  held  to  be  the  true  ones?  The  elements  of  the  livelihood 
aim;  and  how  education  in  agriculture  may  contribute 
towards  its  realization?    The  same  with  reference  to  the 

1  Cf.  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High  School,  p.  180. 


92  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION   FOR   TEACHERS 

knowledge  aim?  The  same  with  reference  to  the  mind- 
development  aim?  The  same  with  reference  to  the  com- 
plete and  harmonious  development  aim?  The  same  with 
reference  to  the  refinement  aim?  The  same  with  reference 
to  the  cultural  aim?  The  same  with  reference  to  the 
ethical-training  aim?  The  same  with  reference  to  the 
individual-adjustment  aim?  The  same  with  reference  to 
the  social-service  aim? 


CHAPTER  X 

PEDAGOGICAL   PROBLEMS   INVOLVED   IN   THE 
TEACHING  OF  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE  ^ 

Elementary  agriculture  as  a  school  subject  is  so  young 
that  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  confronts  us 
when  we  undertake  to  define  its  field.  Both  the  con- 
tent and  the  place  in  the  program  of  studies  of  a  school 
subject  should  be  known  before  the  formulation  of  its 
pedagogy  is  attempted.  The  first  problem,  then,  in 
teaching  elementary  agriculture  is  to  determine  what 
portions — facts,  principles,  laws,  and  their  apphca- 
tions — of  this  great  subject  may  with  profit  to  the  child 
and  the  race,  be  taught  in  the  elementary  school. 

The  time  was,  less  than  a  century  ago,  when  prac- 
tically no  science  of  agriculture  existed,  although  the 
art  of  agriculture  is  perhaps  the  most  ancient.  In 
America  the  passage  of  the  Morrill  Act  by  Congress, 
in  1862,  laid  the  foundation  for  the  building  of  a  great 
science  of  agriculture;  and  through  the  application 
of  its  principles  to  the  production  of  food,  clothing, 
and  shelter  for  man,  or  to  the  satisfying  of  his  aesthetic 
desires,  the  most  ancient  art  of  agriculture  has  been 
transformed.      When   the   land-grant   colleges   began 

^  Cf.  pp.  29-34,  Journal  of  Educational  Psychology  for  January, 
1912. 

93 


94  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

their  work,  many  of  the  things  which  they  taught 
were  quite  elementary.  As  agricultural  investiga- 
tions bore  fruit,  and  new  discoveries  were  formulated 
into  principles,  the  body  of  subject  matter  gradually 
grew  until  there  came  to  be  a  great  mass  of  agricul- 
tural information  that  was  available  for  teaching. 
With  the  rise  of  the  agricultural  high  schools,  and  the 
introduction  of  the  subject  of  agriculture  into  the  regu- 
lar American  secondary  school,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century,  much  of  the  agricultural  infor- 
mation that  was  considered  elementary  and  secondary 
was  handed  over  to  these  new  schools  and  courses,  for 
instructional  purposes.  Now,  as  the  elementary  and 
rural  schools  of  the  country  are  beginning  to  teach 
agriculture,  a  new  division  of  the  subject  matter  is 
being  made,  and  certain  phases  of  agriculture  on  the 
one  hand,  and  of  nature  study  on  the  other,  are  being 
formulated  for  use  in  elementary  instruction.  Just 
what  these  phases  should  be  has  not  yet  been  definitely 
settled.  However,  a  beginning  is  being  made,  and  a 
few  elemental  and  fundamental  facts,  principles,  laws, 
and  practices  of  agriculture  are  coming  to  be  generally 
used.  This  instructional  matter  must  meet  at  least 
three  requirements:  on  the  side  of  the  home,  the  in- 
struction should  result  in  some  immediate  economic 
benefit,  and  in  giving  the  boy  an  intelligent  desire  for 
farm  life;  on  the  side  of  the  school,  the  boy  should  be 
prepared  for  continuing  the  agricultural  work  of  the 
high  school;  and  from  the  standpoint  of  the  pupil  him- 


PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS  95 

self,  the  matter  of  instruction  should  be  adapted  to 
his  nature  and  capacity.  To  ignore  any  of  these  fac- 
tors, must,  at  the  present  time,  result  disastrously 
to  any  portion  of  the  subject,  the  presence  of  which 
may  be  desired  in  the  elementary  or  rural  schools. 

The  National  Educational  Association  Committee 
on  Industrial  Education  in  Schools  for  Rural  Com- 
munities recommended,  in  1905,  that  agriculture  be 
taught  in  the  upper  grammar  grades,  indicating  es- 
pecially the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  and  possibly 
the  sixth  grade  also.^  The  wisdom  of  this  recommen- 
dation is  becoming  more  apparent  as  the  years  pass 
by.  Yet,  attempts  are  being  made  in  some  quarters 
to  introduce  the  teaching  of  elementary  agriculture 
into  all  the  grades  of  the  elementary  school.  There 
is  a  possibility  that  such  a  procedure  will  be  justified; 
the  probabiUty  of  its  eventually  succeeding  is,  how- 
ever, seriously  questioned,  the  error  arising  from  the 
neglect  to  differentiate  between  agricultural  nature 
study  and  elementary  agriculture. 

Because  agriculture  is  both  a  science  and  an  art,  we 
are  apt  to  think  of  it  as  being  an  industrial  subject. 
This  it  is.  We  must,  for  the  present,  make  a  disti^ic- 
tion  between  an  industrial  subject  and  a  vocational 

^  See  the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Industrial  Education  in  Schools 
for  Rural  Communities  of  the  National  Educational  Association, 
pp.  44-46. 

See  also  Bailey,  L.  K.iOn  the  Training  of  Persons  to  Teach  Agricul- 
ture in  the  Public  Schools,  p.  14,  Bulletin  No.  i,  1908,  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Education. 


96  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

subject,  in  that  the  former  affords  an  avenue  through 
which  to  train  the  motor  propensities  of  the  pupil, 
without  the  aim  of  training  him  for  any  certain  trade; 
while  the  latter  affords  motor  training  of  a  specialized 
sort  with  the  definite  purpose  of  training  the  pupil 
in  some  given  vocation.  One  gives  motor  develop- 
ment with  the  view  of  furnishing  adjustments  to  the 
general  environments  of  life;  the  other  affords  manual 
training  with  a  view  of  securing  adjustments  to  spe- 
cial conditions  of  society.  One  is  a  training  for  all 
youth  no  matter  what  occupation  they  may  later 
enter;  the  other  is  the  prerequisite  training  for  youth 
who  wish  to  enter  some  special  vocation,  as  carpenter- 
ing, blacksmithing,  mechanical  engineering,  masonry, 
weaving,  etc.  One  affords  a  large  degree  of  gen- 
eral culture,  while  the  lack  of  it  is  very  noticeable 
in  the  other.  Elementary  agriculture  comes  under 
the  first  class — it  is  an  industrial  subject  as  well  as 
cultural.  Agriculture  is  both  a  science  and  an  art, 
and  if  its  being  taught  in  the  elementary  school  re- 
sults in  being  later  vocationally  applied  by  the  pupil, 
such  will  be  only  an  incidental  matter. 

Since  agriculture  is  not  necessarily  a  vocational  sub- 
ject, and  surely  not  so  when  taught  in  the  elementary 
school,  it  is  not  to  be  taught  as  a  vocational  subject; 
and  since  it  is  not  a  science  alone,  it  is  not  to  be 
taught  whoUy  like  the  pure  sciences.  Many  of  the 
principles  of  teaching  used  in  the  classical  subjects 
are  apphcable   to  the  teaching  of   agriculture.     For 


PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS 


97 


example,  in  the  elementary  school  the  pupil  is  taught 
the  principles  of  writing  a  composition;  but  no 
good  teacher  will  be  satisfied  with  the  pupil's  train- 
ing in  this  respect  imtil  he  has  acquired  the  ability 
of  applying  his  knowledge  in  producing  a  composition. 
Just  so  in  elementary  agriculture;  when  a  pupil  learns 
the  principles  of  raising  potatoes,  he  should  be  able 
to  raise  them  with  some  degree  of  success.  As  the 
composition  is  the  expression  of  the  pupil  in  the  lan- 
guage class,  so  the  patch  of  potatoes  is  the  expression 
of  the  pupil  in  the  class  in  elementary  agriculture. 
If  the  pupil  in  writing  his  composition,  omits  the  use 
of  proper  punctuation  marks,  it  is  an  evidence  that 
he  has  not  learned  his  lesson  well;  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  boy  who  secures  few  and  small  tubers 
at  digging  time  because  the  bugs  destroyed  the  po- 
tato tops. 

Similar  examples  might  be  cited  with  the  purpose 
of  showing  that  many  of  the  principles  of  pedagogy, 
indeed  most  of  them,  that  were  developed  from  the 
teaching  of  the  languages  and  pure  sciences  are 
apphcable  also  to  the  teaching  of  agriculture;  and 
that  others  may  be  adapted.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  of  the  principles  apphcable  to  the  teaching  of 
the  vocational  or  trade  subjects  are  not  so  desirable 
in  the  teaching  of  elementary  agriculture. 

The  apprentice  system  was  formerly  quite  efficient 
in  producing  skilled  mechanics.  The  same  method, 
somewhat  modified,  is  to-day  used  in  the  technical 


AGKIC.    EDUC- 


98  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

training  of  machinists  and  skilled  workmen  in  the 
technical  schools;  the  students  learn  their  trades  by 
working  at  them.  In  agriculture,  however,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  realize  the  true  educational  as  well  as 
the  industrial  aims  to  place  a  boy  on  a  farm  under 
the  direction  of  a  good  farmer,  although  the  boy  might 
even  develop  into  an  excellent  farmer  in  practice. 
Many  good  farmers,  judged  from  the  standpoint  of 
education,  are  woefully  deficient  in  their  mental  at- 
tainments, even  possessing  no  liberal,  clear,  and  sys- 
tematic knowledge  of  their  own  business;  and  on  the 
side  of  their  physical  development  and  adaptabil- 
ity, the  same  criticism  holds  equally  true.  In  our 
efforts  to  get  away  from  books  and  bookish  methods 
of  teaching,  we  must  be  careful  lest  we  swing  to  the 
opposite  extreme. 

A  very  comprehensive  problem  is  the  matter  of  deter- 
mining by  experimental  methods  whether  or  not  the 
principles  of  our  present-day  pedagogy,  which  have 
been  evolved  through  the  medium  of  the  older  school 
subjects,  hold  equally  true  when  applied  to  this  new 
field  of  semi-vocational-cultural  training.  If  some 
modifications  are  necessary,  just  what  are  they  and 
how  shall  they  be  accomplished? 

The  teaching  of  agriculture  is  largely  a  synthetic 
process,  instead  of  analytic.  We  teach  how  to  raise 
com  instead  of  teaching  how  it  was  raised.  There  are 
those  who  insist  that  the  pupil  should  first  go  through 
the  experience  of  certain  agricultural  operations  be- 


PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS  99 

fore  he  is  given  the  opportunity  of  studying  the  scien- 
tific aspect  of  these  methods.  He  must  raise  some  corn 
before  studying  its  culture.  The  claim  is  that  the 
pupil  should  first  have  the  experience  of  applied  science, 
so  that,  when  he  shall  later  study  the  scientific  prin- 
ciples involved,  he  shall  understand  their  significance 
more  fully.  This  method  would  be  the  apphed-science 
approach  carried  to  the  extreme.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  argued  that  the  methods  of  agriculture — in  the 
raising  of  com,  for  example — ^which  are  taught  to 
elementary  school  pupils,  should  be  only  such  as  have 
been  thoroughly  tested  by  practical  agriculturists. 
It  is,  therefore,  not  essential  that  the  pupil  first  raise 
a  plot  of  com  before  he  studies  about  raising  corn. 
If  the  pupil  has  had  such  experience  at  home,  or  the 
opportunity  of  acquainting  himself  by  observation  with 
the  various  phases  of  com  raising,  such  experience  is 
not  to  be  despised. 

In  accordance  with  the  latter  plan,  which  at  the 
present  time  seems  the  more  promising  of  success,  the 
pupil  is  taught  the  elementary  principles  of  agricul- 
ture throughout  the  school  year,  and  near  its  close 
he  is  given  the  opportunity  of  applying  his  agricul- 
tural knowledge  in  a  school  garden,  or  home  garden 
or  field,  whichever  the  case  may  be.  This  practical 
work  should  be  carried  forward  during  the  following 
summer,  if  possible  xmder  the  supervision  of  a  com- 
petent teacher.  The  pupil's  past  training  will  give 
him  weapons  with  which  to  attack  agricultural  prob- 


lOO         AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

lems  as  they  arise  in  connection  with  his  practical 
work.    He  now  applies  his  science  intelligently. 

We  still  have  the  pure  science  and  the  applied 
science,  or  the  economic,  methods  of  approach.  In 
the  former,  the  pupil  is  encouraged  to  learn  the  facts, 
principles,  and  laws  of  science  for  their  own  sake,  while 
in  the  latter  he  is  appealed  to  by  the  economic  ap- 
plications to  which  these  may  be  put.  The  former 
is  the  method  that  has  been  universally  used  in  our 
schools  in  the  past;  but  it  has  been  pointed  out,^  and 
seemingly  proved,  that  the  economic  method  of  ap- 
proach is  superior  when  considered  by  the  test  of 
results.^  Of  course  we  need  further  tests  of  this  prob- 
lem, especially  on  the  large  scale  and  under  the  normal 
conditions  of  the  pupils  in  their  local  home  communi- 
ties with  all  the  usual  community  and  public-school 
factors  in  full  operation.  The  work  might  well  be 
carried  out  with  botany  and  that  part  of  agriculture 
that  deals  with  plants.  Either  spring  or  autumn 
might  be  selected  as  the  time  of  year.  One  hundred 
schools,  more  or  less,  should  be  selected  and  paired 
off  so  that  the  schools  of  each  pair  would  have  very 
similar  conditions  of  environment,  community,  local 
factors,  equipment,  teachers,  number  of  pupils,  races, 

^Hall,  G.  Stanley:  Adolescence,  Vol.  II,  pp.  153,  156-157.  Apple- 
ton,  New  York,  1905. 

2  See  the  report  of  the  experiment  of  J.  P.  Gilbert  with  pure  and 
applied  science  methods  of  approach  in  secondary  school  science. 
The  Journal  of  Educational  Psychology,  Vol.  I,  pp.  321-330. 


PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS  loi 

etc.  In  one  school  of  each  pair,  the  pupils  should  study 
elementary  botany  via  the  pure  science  approach; 
in  the  other  school,  elementary  agriculture  by  the 
economic-applied  science  approach.  The  topics  of 
study  should  be  the  same  in  both  cases.  After  a  cer- 
tain period  results  from  all  the  schools  should  be  com- 
pared. The  work  should  first  be  outlined  and  subse- 
quently supervised  by  two  persons — one  versed  in 
methods  as  applied  to  teaching  elementary  botany 
and  the  other  in  methods  as  applied  to  teaching  ele- 
mentary agriculture.  The  teachers  should  first  have 
general  and  specific  instructions  with  reference  to  the 
purpose  of  the  experiment,  the  work  to  be  presented, 
and  the  methods  of  instruction.  The  examinations 
for  all  pupils  should  be  of  two  kinds,  one  part  on  the 
basis  of  pure  science,  and  the  other  on  the  economic 
or  applied  science  basis.  The  results  of  these  examina- 
tions should  be  passed  upon  by  the  two  supervisors 
in  charge.  This  would  be  a  very  elaborate  and  ex- 
tended piece  of  work,  but  it  would  doubtless  yield 
significant  results. 

Another  educational  problem,  both  administrative 
and  pedagogical,  concerns  itself  with  the  selection, 
organization,  and  teaching  of  a  series  of  type  habits 
associated  with  approved  agricultural  practice.  Pre- 
viously acquired  habits  very  fundamentally  influence 
future  acts.  Habits  are  stable  and  lasting  to  a  degree 
quite  equal  to  that  of  instincts  and  far  greater  than 
that  of  ideas.     If  ideas  and  instincts  are  sufiiciently 


I02         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

important  to  be  considered  as  determining  factors 
in  the  organization  of  teaching  materials,  we  see  no 
reason  why  habits  should  not  also  be  so  admitted.* 
Two  objects  should  guide  in  the  selection  of  this  pro- 
posed course  of  habits:  namely,  preparation  for  the 
high  school  course  in  "agricultural"  habits,  and  prep- 
aration for  making  successful  adjustments  to  the  com- 
mon and  elementary  conditions  of  farm  life.  "In  the 
present  status  of  habit  training  in  the  elementary 
school,  pupils  enter  the  high  school  without  any  ade- 
quate uniformity  in  the  automatisms  that  they  may 
have  acquired.  It  is  true  that  the  pupils  of  a  class 
often  do  possess  many  automatisms  in  common,  but 
until  greater  progress  is  made  in  systematic  habit 
training  in  the  elementary  school,  the  high  school 
must  content  itself  with  using  such  automatisms  as 
its  pupils  have  incidentally  acquired  or  assume  the 
responsibihty  of  first  developing  those  habits  that  it 
wishes  to  make  use  of  in  later  instruction.  "^ 

The  selection  of  any  program  of  habits  must  never 
lose  sight  of  their  practical  usefulness  in  securing  im- 
mediate and  serviceable  adjustments  to  farm  en- 
vironments and  rural  life.  There  are  many  conditions 
in  rural  life  to  the  stimuli  of  which  country  children 
should  respond  with  definite  automatic  reactions. 
Habits  of  doing  certain  things  at  given  times  are  ab- 
solutely essential  in  successful  farming.     The  habits 

^Bricker,  G.  A.:  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High  School, 
p.  90.  *Ibid. 


PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS  103 

of  selecting  seed  com  in  autumn;  of  harvesting  at  the 
proper  time;  of  storing  grain  properly;  of  grafting, 
mending  tools,  and  doing  other  things  that  may  be 
scheduled  for  the  season  of  least  activity;  of  cleanli- 
ness in  milking;  of  testing  the  vitahty  of  seeds;  of 
starting  early  plants  on  time;  of  plowing  when  the 
season  permits;  of  cultivating  when  conditions  re- 
quire; of  cutting  scion  and  stock  quickly  and  accurately 
so  that  the  two  parts  of  the  graft  will  fit  together 
nicely — these  are  only  a  few  of  the  habits  that  should 
be  estabHshed  in  the  life  activities  of  every  successful 
farmer.  Although  the  teaching  of  all  these  various 
activities  may  not  He  within  the  province  of  the  ele- 
mentary school,  yet  their  enumeration  will  serve  to 
give  a  conception  of  what  is  needed  in  the  matter  of 
habit  formation.  A  series  of  type  laboratory,  field, 
and  home-project  exercises  should  be  planned,  with 
the  object  of  furnishing  the  means  of  forming  habits 
that  the  stimuli  of  farm  life  will  tend  to  set  into  opera- 
tion. These  types  should  have  an  element  of  common- 
ness with  conditions  that  the  pupil  will  likely  meet 
on  the  farm.  This  common  element  in  the  situation 
of  farm  Hfe  and  school  training  will  suggest  the  use  of 
certain  habits  previously  learned  at  school;  hence, 
the  use  of  type  practicums  in  developing  skill  in  agri- 
cultural art.  It  is  the  element  of  commonness  that 
gives  the  cue.  There  is  at  present  great  need  for  such 
a  systematized  series  of  exercises  for  the  laboratory, 
field,  and  home  work  of  elementary  agriculture. 


I04  AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION    FOR  TEACHERS 

Some  of  the  most  important  pedagogical  problems 
of  elementary  agriculture,  then,  are  summarized  by 
the  following  hst  of  questions:  i.  What  portions  of 
the  subject  of  agriculture  are  adapted  for  use  in  the 
elementary  school?  2.  In  what  grade  or  grades  of 
the  elementary  school  should  elementary  agriculture 
be  taught?  3.  Are  the  principles  of  our  present-day 
pedagogy  apphcable  to  the  efficient  teaching  of  ele- 
mentary agriculture?  4.  Should  experience  in  prac- 
tical agricultural  methods  precede  the  study  of  the 
scientific  principles  involved,  or  should  the  facts  and 
principles  be  first  studied  to  be  followed  by  their  prac- 
tical application  or  should  the  study  of  agricultural  prin- 
ciples and  experience  in  farm  practice  proceed  con- 
comitantly? 5.  Which  gives  the  better  scholastic  and 
practical  results,  the  pure  science,  or  the  economic- 
applied  science  method  of  approach?  6.  Is  it  feasi- 
ble to  organize  and  teach  a  series  of  "  agricultural '* 
habits  in  the  elementary  school? 

There  are  only  two  ways  by  which  correct  and  re- 
liable answers  to  these  questions  may  be  secured;  either 
by  long  and  costly  experience,  or  by  immediate  experi- 
mental methods. 

Review  of  Chapter  X 

What  can  you  say  concerning— 

The  newness  of  the  subject?  The  Morrill  Act?  Early 
work  of  the  agricultural  colleges?  The  work  of  the  second- 
ary schools?    The  work  of  the  elementary  schools?    Three 


PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS  105 

requisites  to  be  met?  Recommendation  of  N.  E.  A.  Com- 
mittee? Agriculture  as  a  science  and  an  art?  An  industrial 
subject?  A  vocational  subject?  The  position  of  agriculture 
as  a  school  subject?  Teaching  agriculture  as  a  science  and 
an  art?  Methods  of  teaching  agriculture?  Synthetic  proc- 
ess? The  appUed-science  approach  overemphasized?  Infor- 
mation, then  practice?  The  pure  and  appHed-science  meth- 
ods of  approach  in  teaching?  Explanation  of  terms?  An 
experiment  to  determine  results  of  methods?  Teaching  type 
habits  in  agricultural  activities?  The  importance  of  habits? 
Aims  in  the  formation  of  agricultural  habits?  The  enumera- 
tion of  a  few  type  habits?  Need  of  developing  the  idea  of 
habit  formation  in  education? 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    ADMINISTRATION     AND     TEACHING    OF 
SCHOOL  AGRICULTURE 

I.  Administration 

The  administration  of  elementary  education  in  agri- 
culture has  reference  to  the  provision  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  facilities  for  instruction  in  this  branch.  The 
equipment,  as  teachers,  apparatus,  texts,  gardens, 
and  tools  would  come  under  this  head;  also,  the  or- 
ganization of  the  course  of  study  and  its  location  in 
the  program  of  studies,  its  relations  to  other  subjects 
in  that  program,  and  the  purpose  for  which  the  course 
is  to  be  taught. 

The  Committee  on  Industrial  Education  in  Schools 
for  Rural  Communities  of  the  N.  E.  A.  recommended 
in  1905  that,  "After  the  explicit  nature  study  ceases 
with  the  fifth  grade,  the  pupil  in  the  rural  school  may 
then  be  taken  through  the  elements  of  agriculture 
in  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  grades."  ^  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  this  recommendation  was  made 
at  a  time  when  elementary  agriculture  was  just  coming 
out  of  its  nature-study  swaddhng  clothes,  it  can  be 
but  little  improved  upon  to-day.  Gradually,  however, 

*  See  the  report  of  the  Committee,  p.  44. 
106 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  TEACHING  107 

real  elementary  agriculture  has  come  to  be  limited 
mostly  to  grades  seven  and  eight,  while  the  work  of 
the  preceding  three  grades  has  come  to  be  agricultural 
nature  study.  Agricultural  nature  study  is  to  elemen- 
tary agriculture  much  as  reading  is  to  Hterature;  the 
former  furnishes  the  key  by  which  the  great  riches 
of  the  latter  are  attainable.  In  elementary  agricul- 
ture, the  facts,  principles,  and  experiences  of  agricul- 
tural nature  study  are  used  in  the  further  acquirement 
of  agricultural  knowledge  and  experience.  They  are 
built  into  a  system,  and  we  have  therefore,  the  begin- 
nings of  a  science. 

The  placing  of  elementary  agriculture  in  the  upper 
grades  of  the  elementary  school,  and  nature  study 
in  the  lower  is  thoroughly  pedagogical.  At  different 
ages  in  the  life  of  a  child,  he  is  dominated  by  differ- 
ent psychological  manifestations.  These  dominant 
manifestations  will  determine  the  place  as  well  as  the 
aims  of  any  subject  in  the  program  of  studies.  In 
his  latter  pre-adolescent  age,  the  child  becomes  de- 
cidedly utiHtarian  in  his  thought  and  life,  and  con- 
sequently distinctly  economic.  Now,  while  the  eco- 
nomic aim,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  preceding  chapter, 
may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  aims  of  nature  study, 
it  cannot  be  accepted  as  the  chief  one.  In  elemen- 
tary agriculture,  however  the  predominance  of  the 
economic  aim  becomes  its  distinguishing  purpose  as  a 
subject  of  study  and  teaching.  The  time  for  teach- 
ing so  utilitarian  a  subject,  therefore,  should  be  at 


Io8         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

that  period  of  the  child's  development  when  he  comes 
to  have  a  distinctly  practical  outlook  upon  life.  This 
is  about  the  time  that  he  reaches  the  sixth  or  the  seventh 
grade  of  the  elementary  school. 

A  distinguished  writer  on  nature  study  says:  "There 
are  comparatively  few  schools  in  which  there  is  any 
definite  place  upon  the  program  for  work  in  nature 
study.  *  *  *  I  am  quite  convinced,  when  we  reach 
our  ideal  program  there  will  be  no  period  for  nature 
study  found  upon  the  schedule."  We  should  not 
say  so  with  reference  to  elementary  agriculture,  which 
should  be  taught  as  a  distinct  and  separate  branch, 
with  a  definite  assignment  of  place  on  the  daily  pro- 
gram and  in  the  curriculum,^ 

n.  Teaching 

The  course  in  elementary  agriculture  should  be  formu- 
lated in  obedience  to  five  essential  principles : 

First,  the  course  should  be  general  in  its  nature. 
As  all  the  land  of  the  world  has  been  divided  into 
five  grand  divisions,  so  the  great  subject  of  agricul- 
ture may  also  be  divided:  namely,  plant  studies,  ani- 
mal studies,  farm  management  and  machine  studies, 
soil  studies,  and  studies  and  practice  in  production. 
Any  adequate  elementary  course  should  include  the 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  agricul- 
ture should  be  taught  as  a  separate  science,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
pages  46-55  of  the  author's  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High 
School. 


ADMINISTRATION  .AND  TEACHING  109 

study  of  the  more  evident  facts  and  principles  from 
each  of  these  divisions. 

Second,  the  subjects  chosen  for  study  should  be 
fundamental,  not  trifling  or  unimportant.  For  ex- 
ample, a  knowledge  of  the  duaUty  of  animal  forms 
in  accordance  with  differentiation  of  production  that 
runs  through  the  various  famihes  of  domestic  animals, 
and  the  abihty  to  recognize  and  point  out  the  more 
striking  characteristics  of  these  types  is  at  once  both 
general  and  fundamental  agricultural  knowledge,  and 
has  its  place  in  a  rudimentary  course  of  agriculture. 

Third,  the  objects,  facts,  and  principles  should  be 
arranged  in  the  course  so  that  they  may  be  presented 
in  a  systematic  order.  The  course,  though  elementary, 
should  be  a  unit,  complete  in  itself.  It  should  be  well 
balanced  in  that  no  one  grand  division  receives  much 
greater  emphasis  than  another.  If  we  are  to  teach 
elementary  agriculture  as  a  science,  this  requirement 
will  be  quite  fundamental. 

Fourth,  the  elementary  course  in  agriculture  should 
include  as  objects  of  study,  the  common  things  of 
the  farm.  This  implies  the  exclusion  of  those  things 
that  are  quite  unfamiHar  to  the  pupils.  There  is  posi- 
tively no  excuse  for  the  study  of  the  zebra  or  the  os- 
trich by  the  vast  majority  of  the  country  and  village 
children  of  the  United  States,  where  the  cow  and  the 
turkey  are  better  known  and  enter  very  intimately 
into  their  life  experiences.  Obedience  to  the  law  of 
apperception  requires  that  this  principle  be  followed 


no         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

in  the  construction  of  a  course  of  study  in  elementary 
agriculture.^  This  principle  precludes  the  possibility 
of  having  a  "  cut-and-dried "  course  in  elementary 
agriculture  that  is  universally  applicable.  Only  sug- 
gestive courses  may  be  outlined,  for  there  must  be 
modifications  of  any  general  course  to  suit  local  con- 
ditions. Hence,  each  country,  section,  state,  and  even 
county  will  need  a  course  of  study  in  elementary 
agriculture  that  will  embody  the  objects  and  prin- 
ciples most  familiar  to  the  agriculture  of  the  locality 
or  natural  territorial  division. 

Fifth,  the  course  in  elementary  school  agriculture 
should  be  so  planned  and  constructed  as  to  follow  the 
course  of  the  seasons.  This  principle  is  known  as  the 
seasonal  sequence  and  involves  the  right  selection  of 
any  agricultural  topic  for  study  during  a  given  season 
of  the  year.  Briefly  stated,  this  principle  is:  ^/  any 
given  season  of  the  year,  teach  those  agricultural  things 
in  which  the  farming  community  is  interested  at  that 
tinted 

A  good  textbook,  while  not  an  absolute  necessity,  is 
yet  strongly  recommended  for  the  use  of  both  the 
teacher  and  the  pupil.  The  teacher  will  use  the  book 
as  a  manual  by  which  to  be  guided  in  the  progressive 
and  orderly  teaching  of  the  subject.  The  textbook 
is  itself  the  embodiment  of  the  author's  methods  for 

^  See  pp.  58-63  of  the  author's  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the 
High  School  for  a  f\aller  discussion  of  this  principle. 

*Ibid.,  Chapter  VI,  "  The  Seasonal  Determination  of  Sequence." 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  TEACHING  in 

teaching  the  subject.  The  pupils  should  always  have 
a  convenient  and  famiHar  book  in  which  the  funda- 
mentals of  the  subject  may  be  read  and  studied.  De- 
pendence upon  bulletins  is  unsafe,  because  as  a  rule, 
they  are  not  pedagogically  written,  because  they  tend 
to  lead  the  inexperienced  teacher  to  overemphasize 
the  particular  subjects  considered  in  them,  and  because 
they  are  seldom  at  hand  in  sufficient  quantities  when 
most  needed.  Bulletins  and  magazines  should  be  kept 
on  file  for  reference  use. 

The  main  purposes  for  teaching  agriculture  in  the 
elementary  school  are  cultural  and  pre- vocational. 
With  respect  to  the  first,  no  person  can  be  said  to  be 
educated  or  cultured,  who  does  not  know  something 
about  agriculture,  and  who  has  not  enriched  his  life 
with  some  of  its  experiences.  In  respect  to  the  latter, 
it  must  ever  be  maintained  that  the  elementary  school 
of  the  people  cannot  be  made  vocational  in  the  methods 
or  the  residts  of  its  training.  Its  subjects  of  instruc- 
tion must  ever  be  pre-vocational.  In  the  elementary 
school,  for  example,  we  give  the  child  a  taste,  a  glimpse 
of  what  the  practice  of  medicine  means  by  teaching 
him  a  "smattering"  of  that  vocation,  which  we  call 
elementary  physiology;  in  much  the  same  way,  through 
the  study  of  physics,  geometry,  history,  and  civics  the 
child  gets  a  glimpse  of  what  is  involved  in  the  voca- 
tions of  mechanical  and  electrical  engineering,  civil 
engineering,  and  law,  respectively.  These  elementary 
subjects  may  in  this  sense,  be  regarded  as  pre-vocational 


112         AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

subjects.  In  much  the  same  way  the  agriculture  of 
the  elementary  school  may  be  regarded  as  pre-voca- 
tional  with  respect  to  the  business  of  agriculture.  As 
teachers,  we  cannot  hope  to  make  efficient  farmers  of 
children  of  tender  years,  who  have  received  only  a 
simple  course  of  instruction  in  agriculture  in  the  ele- 
mentary school,  or  even  the  high  school,  where  the 
subject  is  taught  as  a  non-vocational  subject.  It 
ought  to  be  stated  here  that  fond  parents  and  design- 
ing politicians  ought  not  to  expect  the  impossible  of 
the  public  schools. 

ni.  A  Suggestive  Outline  for  a  One-Year  Course  in 
Pre-vocational  Agriculture 

FIRST  HALF-YEAR 

I.  Plant  studies  of  matured  plants,  fruits,  roots,  and 
seeds.  Autumn — September  and  October,  eight  weeks. 
Begin  with  the  study  of  the  products  of  those  plants 
most  familiar  to  the  pupils.  From  the  study  of  the 
fruits  and  products,  proceed  to  the  plants  produc- 
ing them.  These  studies  should  be  approached  from 
the  economic  point  of  view.  Orchard  fruits,  trees, 
weeds,  tobacco,  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  the  more  im- 
portant grains  and  grasses,  roots  and  tubers,  and  the 
injuries  from  plant  diseases  and  insect  pests  are  among 
the  principal  subjects  for  study.  There  should  be 
exercises  in  judging.  An  ideal  of  superior  plants  and 
fruits  as  well  as  of  greater  yield  should  be  established 
in  the  minds  of  the  pupils. 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  TEACHING  113 

2.  Animal  studies.  Late  fall  and  winter — November 
and  December,  six  weeks.  Begin  with  the  animal 
products  most  familiar  to  the  pupils  and  then  proceed 
to  the  study  of  the  animals  themselves.  Use  the  eco- 
nomic and  applied-science  approach.  Animal  types 
and  breeds  should  be  studied,  and  there  should  be 
exercises  in  stock  judging.  Milk,  butter,  wool,  meat, 
eggs,  and  animals  yielding  these  products,  feed  and 
feeding,  and  the  proper  care  of  farm  animals  are  among 
the  topics  that  should  be  considered.  The  desirability 
of  superior  production  of  quality  and  quantity  should 
be  emphasized. 

3.  General  farm  management  and  machine  studies. 
— (a)  Farm  management.  Winter — December- January, 
four  weeks.  Agriculture  should  teach  not  only  the 
principles  of  the  production  of  economic  materials 
but  also  the  methods  by  which  these  materials  when 
produced  may  be  conserved.  General  farm  plans, 
systems  of  crop  rotation,  the  plotting  of  orchards  and 
gardens,  the  management  of  the  dairy,  plans  for  build- 
ing, systems  of  drainage,  construction  of  fences,  farm 
records  and  finances,  and  special  farm  problems  are 
some  of  the  topics  that  should  be  given  consideration 
at  this  time. 

SECOND  HALF-YEAR 

(b)  Machine  studies.  Winter — January,  two  weeks. 
Begin  with  the  simple  farm  tools,  and  then  approach 
those  machines  most  familiar  to  the  pupils.    Consider 

AGMC.   EDUC. — 8 


114         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

construction  and  the  relation  and  function  of  parts. 
Make  use  of  the  motor  propensities  in  the  children. 
Emphasize  the  need  of  properly  caring  for  machinery. 
Take  to  pieces  and  set  up  several  farm  machines.  Study 
types  and  the  reasons  for  the  kind  of  work  done. 

4.  Soil  studies.  Late  winter  and  spring — Febru- 
ary and  March,  eight  weeks.  Simple  soil  studies  should 
first  be  made.  Such  things  as  the  t^-pes  and  composi- 
tion of  soils,  humus,  mulch,  drainage,  various  rela- 
tions existing  among  soil,  water,  and  air,  soil  fertility, 
soil  fertility  tests,  fertilizers,  and  the  use  and  care  of 
manures  may  be  studied.  The  economic  appeal  to 
the  pupil  may  here  be  made  very  strong  but  the  ideal 
of  the  conservation  of  soil  fertility  for  future  genera- 
tions should  not  be  missed. 

5.  Studies  and  practice  in  production.  Spring — ^April 
and  May,  eight  weeks.  Under  this  head  are  com- 
bined and  applied  many  of  the  principles  previously 
learned.  The  central  features  here  are  the  develop- 
ing plant  and  animal.  The  relations  that  soils,  mois- 
ture, temperature,  light,  fertility,  cultivation,  insect 
pests,  and  plant  diseases  bear  to  plants;  and  the  care, 
feeding,  sheltering,  and  selection  of  animals  should 
be  duly  considered;  while  the  best  methods  of  har- 
vesting, storing,  grading,  and  marketing  the  products 
of  both  animals  and  plants  should  be  emphasized. 
A  greenhouse,  a  demonstration  field,  hotbeds  and 
coldframes,  home  projects,  and  if  possible,  the  main- 
tenance of  marketing  relations  with  consumers,  are 


ADMINISTRATION   AND   TEACHING  115 

quite  essential  for  properly  carrying  out  this  phase  of 
the  subject  of  agriculture.  Provisions  should  be  made 
for  work  in  practical  agriculture  throughout  the  entire 
ensuing  summer. 

Notes 

Half-year  courses  should  attempt  only  one  half  of  the  work  here 
outlined.  Since  agriculture  is  both  a  science  and  an  art,  both  learning 
and  doing  are  involved. 

An  ideal  course  in  agriculture  is  a  series  of  type  recitation,  labora- 
tory, and  field  exercises  made  up  of  carefully  selected  materials, 
systematically  and  pedagogically  arranged,  around  which  lectures, 
reading,  and  quizzes  center  as  supplementary  work.  The  core  of  the 
course  should  bring  the  pupil  into  vital  contact  with  the  material 
objects  and  natural  phenomena. 

It  is  recommended  that  credit  in  the  subject  of  agriculture  be  not 
given  until  the  next  September  after  the  pupil  begins  the  course,  thus 
giving  him  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate  his  abihty  for  successfully 
applying  his  training. 

With  proper  modifications  this  outline  may,  in  a  general  way,  be 
followed  in  the  upper  grammar  grades  of  the  elementary  school, 
as  well  as  in  the  non-vocational  high  school. 

IV.  The  Teacher 

A  book  might  be  written  on  special  methods  in 
agricultural  teaching.  We  must,  however,  forego  an 
elaborate  discussion  of  the  subject  here  and  confine 
ourselves  to  a  few  fundamental  suggestions,  and  to 
the  making  of  a  few  timely  cautions. 

For  several  years  to  come  the  majority  of  teachers 
of  agriculture  in  the  schools  will  be  drawn  from  three 
distinct  sources:  namely,  from  the  teachers  of  nature 
study  in  the  grades,  from  agricultural  college  gradu- 


Il6         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

ates,  and  from  the  science  teachers  in  the  high  schools.^ 
Each  of  these  classes  of  teachers  is  prone  to  certain 
mistakes,  which  will  be  indicated  below,  in  the  hope 
that  the  hability  to  err  may  be  anticipated  and  guarded 
against  as  much  as  possible. 

The  nature-study  teacher  is  apt  to  carry  her  methods 
of  instruction  bodily  into  the  teaching  of  agriculture. 
Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said  by  some  writers 
as  to  the  desirabihty  of  this,  such  a  procedure  is  a 
grave  error.  The  nature-study  teacher  instructs  with 
no  idea  of  building  the  lessons  into  parts  of  a  great 
science;  the  teacher  of  agriculture  not  only  should 
do  this  consciously,  but  should  also  bring  the  pupils 
to  this  realization.  Lessons  in  nature  study  very  often 
have  aims  and  ideals  other  than  economic  as  has  been 
shown  in  a  previous  chapter;  but,  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  predominating  aim  in  a  lesson  in  agricul- 
ture will  be  economic.  In  nature  study,  for  instance, 
the  mouth  parts  of  an  insect  are  studied  in  terms  of 
the  part  they  play  in  the  economy  of  the  animal's 
daily  existence;  but  in  agriculture  these  things  are 
studied  with  reference  to  contributing,  ultimately, 
to  the  welfare  of  man. 

The  methods  of  approach  in  nature  study  are  ideal- 
istic, often  beginning  with  a  story,  a  guessing  game,  a 

^  See  the  author's  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  High  School, 
pp.  VIII-IX.  Also  Hummel,  William  Granville;  and  Bertha  Royce: 
Materials  and  Methods  in  High  School  Agriculture,  1913,  pp.  354-355. 
The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York  City. 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  TEACHING  117 

novel  sight  or  experience,  and  ending  with  a  satisfac- 
tion growing  out  of  a  mental  condition — knowledge, 
reflection,  wonderment.  The  method  of  approach  in 
agriculture  is  materialistic,  frequently  beginning  with 
the  commonest  farm  object  or  experience,  and  re- 
sulting in  a  job  and  a  bank  accoimt.  The  nature  study 
of  to-day  as  known  in  the  formal  education  of  Ameri- 
can children  is  a  subject  that  has  become  intimately 
associated  with  the  primary  and  lower  grammar 
grades.  It  is  taught  by  methods  necessary  in  the  teach- 
ing of  little  children.  The  boys  and  girls  of  ten  to 
fifteen  years  are  quite  different  from  the  younger 
group  in  their  instincts,  their  experiences,  their  motives, 
and  their  development  generally.  This  is  eminently 
the  age  of  the  boy  scout  and  the  campfire  girl.  De- 
sires of  physical  prowess,  shrewd  outwitting,  and  eco- 
nomic gain  are  very  prominent  characteristics  displayed 
by  these  youngsters.  The  methods  used  in  teaching 
them  must  take  accoimt  of  such  things.  The  utili- 
tarian attitude  which  shows  the  use  of  the  subject; 
the  industrial  method,  which  exercises  the  muscles  as 
weU  as  the  brain;  the  economic  result,  which  repays 
efforts  and  satisfies  worthy  desires  wiQ  all  be  employed 
by  the  wise  teacher  of  pre-adolescent  and  adolescent 
children.  Perhaps  there  is  no  other  subject  with 
which  these  principles  of  teaching  can  so  well  be 
used  as  with  agriculture.  The  nature-study  teacher,  to 
become  a  teacher  of  agriculture,  must  not  forget  to 
readjust  her  methods  and  aims.     She  will  recognize 


Il8         AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

the  new  piece  of  human  nature  that  she  is  to  teach; 
and  she  will,  therefore,  not  fail  to  select  new  materials 
and  organize  them  on  a  new  basis  for  instructional 
purposes. 

The  agricultural  college  graduate,  as  experience  has 
shown,  invariably  has  his  troubles.  These  arise  from 
three  distinct  sources.  First,  he  does  not  understand 
the  children.  Association  for  a  period  of  four  or  more 
years  with  adults  has  given  him  the  point  of  view  in 
education  in  which  only  matured  minds,  bodies,  ex- 
periences, and  Hves  have  entered.  He  needs  to  realize 
that  the  pupils  in  the  elementary  and  high  schools 
are  immature,  untrained,  and  inexperienced.  The 
driving  home  of  this  reaHzation  is  frequently  too  long 
delayed.  In  the  second  place,  the  graduate  or  student 
of  the  agricultural  college  knows  little  about  teaching 
methods.  He  knows  agriculture,  but  not  the  child. 
The  abundance  of  knowledge  that  he  emits  falls  like 
a  cataract  over  the  heads  and  Uves  of  the  children, 
who  emerge  with  the  reaHzation  that  there  has  been 
a  flood,  but  show  scarcely  any  evidence  of  moisture. 
A  knowledge  of  the  science  of  teaching,  as  well  as  the 
abiUty  to  apply  it  in  practice,  is  quite  essential  in  se- 
curing efficiency  in  education  as  a  knowledge  of  the 
subject  taught.  One  would  suppose  that  this  class 
of  teacher  should  acquire  some  knowledge  from  his 
professors,  and  practice  this  by  imitation;  but,  un- 
fortunately, the  lack  of  training  and  abiUty  in  teach- 
ing does  not  always  exclude  learned  men  from  the 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  TEACHING  119 

active  teaching  staff  of  our  colleges  and  universities. 
Third,  while  the  agricultural  college  graduate  may 
know  his  subject  thoroughly,  he  rarely  knows  what 
to  omit  or  what  to  include  in  teaching  it  to  the  pupils 
of  the  public  schools.  He  has  gathered  a  fund  of  agri- 
cultural knowledge  with  the  intention  of  using  it  on 
the  farm,  and  not  for  instructional  purposes.  His 
knowledge  has  not  been  "educationalized."  He  does 
not  know  the  philosophy,  or  the  science,  or  the  art  of 
education;  and  never  having  been  taught  either  by 
precept  or  example,  why  shall  we  expect  him  to  under- 
stand, or  to  practice  successfully,  the  teaching  business? 
If  he  has  been  trained  to  be  a  farmer,  a  farmer  he 
should  be.  One  of  the  chief  economic  wastes  in  our 
educational  system  arises  from  the  blunders  of  those 
who  do  not  understand  the  business  of  education  and 
teaching. 

The  high  school  science  teacher  seldom  holds  the 
proper  attitude  toward  the  subject  of  agriculture, 
especially  if  his  training  has  been  in  the  usual  college 
sciences  other  than  agriculture.  Except  in  the  engineer- 
ing colleges  and  the  trade  schools,  science  is  seldom 
taught  as  applied.  The  majority  of  college  gradu- 
ates, therefore,  know  only  pure  science,  while  agricul- 
ture, in  so  far  as  it  is  a  science,  is  an  applied  science. 
The  attitude  toward  agriculture  as  a  science  should  be 
industrial  as  well  as  cultural.  But  agriculture  is  more 
than  a  science:  it  is  an  art  and  a  business.  The 
science  graduate  will  probably  not  have  had  any  train- 


I20        AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

ing  in  the  art  or  the  business  of  agriculture;  therefore, 
he  cannot  be  regarded  as  having  had  adequate  prep- 
aration to  teach  a  subject  two  thirds  of  which  he  knows 
Httle  or  nothing  about.  If  the  average  science  teacher 
is  permitted  to  teach  the  agriculture  of  the  high  school, 
the  result  must  be  that  the  pupils  will  have  only  a 
partial  and  lopsided  view  of  the  subject. 

There  is  another  very  serious  error  into  which  the 
science  teacher  is  likely  to  fall,  and  this  has  reference 
to  the  methods  that  he  uses  in  the  teaching  process. 
He  will  in  all  probability,  by  example  and  through 
his  practice  teaching  of  science, — if  by  good  fortune 
or  unusually  wise  guidance  he  has  received  such  neces- 
sary training — ^have  acquired  the  pure  science  method 
of  approach.  Pure  science  methods,  however,  are 
not  applicable  to  the  teaching  of  agriculture  without 
important  modifications.  The  appUed-science  method 
of  approach  must  be  used.  There  are  two  fundamen- 
tal reasons  for  this:  first,  because  the  subject  itself 
is  largely  an  applied  science;  and  second,  because  the 
pupils  of  the  pubHc  schools,  capable  of  receiving  in- 
telligent instruction  in  this  subject,  are  more  readily 
appealed  to  and  taught  by  the  appUed-science  method 
of  instruction.  The  most  important  thing  in  teach- 
ing facts  and  principles  in  agriculture  is  that  the  young 
men  shall  understand  their  appHcation  to  farm  prac- 
tice. There  is  Httle  excuse  for  teaching  anything  in 
agriculture  to  country  children  without  also  teaching 
its  application  to  the  life  and  work  of  the  farm.    The 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  TEACHING  121 

only  exceptions  to  this  rule  would  be  in  the  cases  of 
the  girls  who  may  never  be  called  upon  to  assume 
any  of  the  responsibilities  of  farming  operations;  and 
the  pupils  in  city  schools,  who  have  a  limited  field  for 
the  application  of  the  facts  and  principles  of  agriculture 
but  who  nevertheless,  should,  as  a  matter  of  culture, 
know  something  about  agriculture.  In  view  of  these 
various  handicaps,  the  science  teacher  is  apt  to  view 
the  subject  of  high  school  agriculture  unsympatheti- 
cally. 

There  is  a  fourth  class  of  would-be  teachers  of  agri- 
culture, but  these  scarcely  deserve  notice  in  this  dis- 
cussion. They  are  persons  who  have  been  "raised 
on  the  farm,"  and  who  therefore  think  themselves 
amply  qualified  to  teach  agriculture.  If  this  is  their 
only  qualification  there  is  certainly  no  excuse  for  their 
employment. 

The  question  naturally  arises  here,  from  whence 
will  come  our  best  new  teachers  of  agriculture  in  the 
future?  They  will  come  from  the  agricultural  educa- 
tion departments  of  our  normal  schools  and  agricul- 
tural colleges;  and  by  the  words  in  italics  are  meant 
those  departments  that  give  definite  training  in  the 
theory  and  practice  of  teaching  the  subject  in  all 
grades  of  educational  institutions  including  the  ele- 
mentary school  and  the  college. 

The  use  of  the  printed  page  as  a  means  and  especially 
as  a  guide  in  teaching  agriculture  in  the  public  schools 
and  colleges  is  not  to  be  discouraged;  but  its  over-use 


122         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

is  to  be  condemned.  The  teacher  must  ever  be  mind- 
ful that  the  subject  which  he  teaches  is  based  prima- 
rily upon  the  commonest  things  of  the  farm  and  garden; 
that  the  book  is  only  a  record;  that  facts  are  gained, 
verified,  and  clarified  by  constant  reference  to  the 
animal,  the  plant,  the  soil,  or  successful  practice; 
and  that  the  inspiration  which  comes  from  contact 
with  the  real  physical  object  is  not  nearly  so  apt  to 
disappear  when  brought  into  contact  with  real  life 
on  the  farm  as  is  that  enthusiastic  inspiration  so  often 
gained  from  mere  books. 

As  a  final  caution,  teachers  of  agriculture  should 
endeavor  to  secure  definite  and  sure  reactions  to  what 
they  teach.  This  means  that  the  pupils  should  be- 
come the  possessors  of  clear-cut  knowledge  which  flows 
out  into  actual  practice.  For  example:  after  the  im- 
portance of  giving  good  care  to  milch  cows  has  been 
studied,  the  student  should  be  able  to  enumerate 
definite  things  that  constitute  the  proper  care  of  cows, 
and  the  cows  at  his  home  should  realize  that  some- 
thing definite  has  occurred  to  the  boy. 

Review  of  Chapter  XI 

Epitomize  what  is  said  concerning — 

The  recommendation  of  the  N.  E.  A.  Committee  on 
Industrial  Education  for  Rural  Communities.  The  teach- 
ing of  nature  study  in  the  lower,  and  elementary  agri- 
culture in  the  upper,  grades  of  the  elementary  school. 
The   five  principles   that   govern    the   formulation   of  a 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  TEACHING 


1^3 


course  of  study  in  elementary  agriculture.  The  use  of 
a  textbook  in  teaching  school  agriculture.  The  main 
purpose  in  teaching  agriculture  in  the  elementary  school. 
The  topics  to  be  studied  and  their  arrangement  in  a 
suggestive  course  of  study.  The  three  sources  from 
which  teachers  of  school  agriculture  are  to  be  drawn. 
The  shortcomings  to  which  each  of  the  three  classes 
of  teachers  is  Hable.  The  probable  sources  from  which 
the  best  teachers  of  agriculture  of  the  future  will  be 
secured.  The  use  of  the  printed  page  in  teaching  agri- 
culture.   Definiteness  in  teaching  agriculture. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  COOPERATIVE  USE  OF  APPARATUS,  EQUIP- 
MENT, AND  ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

The  apparatus  required  in  the  teaching  of  public 
school  agriculture  greatly  depends  upon  the  nature 
of  the  work,  whether  it  is  elementary  or  secondary. 
Apparatus  used  in  the  teaching  of  elementary  school 
agriculture  is  usually  very  simple,  and  may  often  be 
made  by  local  artisans,  or  sometimes  by  the  teacher 
and  the  pupils.  The  same  is  true,  to  a  somewhat 
less  extent,  of  the  apparatus  needed  in  high  school 
instruction.  There  is  much  apparatus,  however,  that 
needs  to  be  accurate,  and  this  should  be  purchased 
from  a  reliable  firm.  Cigar-box  and  tomato-can  ap- 
paratus has  no  more  place  in  the  teaching  of  scientific 
agriculture  than  has  similar  apparatus  in  the  teaching 
of  botany,  physics,  or  chemistry.  In  no  subject  can 
rural  school  officials  better  afford  to  invest  money 
than  in  agriculture;  for  the  economic  returns  resulting 
from  instruction  in  this  subject  are  much  greater  and 
more  immediate  than  from  any  other  subject  now 
taught  in  the  pubUc  schools. 

The  teaching  of  the  physical  and  biological  sciences 
by  the  laboratory  method,  which  necessitates  a  more 
or  less  complete  laboratory  equipment,  including  ap- 

124 


COOPERATIVE  USE  OF  EQUIPMENT  125 

paratus,  as  well  as  a  good  supply  of  materials,  is  an 
expensive  undertaking.  If  separate  laboratories,  equip- 
ments, sets  of  apparatus,  and  duplications  of  materials 
were  required  for  each  of  the  scientific  subjects  now 
taught  in  the  schools,  the  expense  indeed  would  become 
burdensome.  Fortunately,  the  same  laboratory,  equip- 
ment, set  of  apparatus,  and  materials  may,  to  a  large 
extent,  be  used  in  the  teaching  of  the  various  physical 
and  biological  sciences.  By  means  of  this  cooperative 
use  of  equipment  the  expense  of  teaching  the  natural 
sciences  may  be  greatly  reduced.  For  the  same  reason, 
the  introduction  of  a  new  science  into  the  program 
of  studies  may  not  greatly  increase  the  total  cost  of 
instruction. 

There  are  at  least  two  different  senses  in  which  there 
may  be  a  cooperative  use  of  equipment  and  illustra- 
tive materials  depending  upon  the  relation  of  those 
who  cooperate  in  the  use  of  these  things.  Briefly 
stated  they  are  as  follows : — 

(i)  Classes  studying  the  same  subject  in  different 
schools  may,  imder  certain  limitations,  use  the  same 
equipment  and  materials. 

(2)  Classes  in  the  same  school  studying  different 
subjects  may,  in  a  number  of  cases,  use  the  same 
equipment  and  materials. 

I.  Cooperation  in  the  use  of  equipment  and  ma- 
terials in  the  first  sense  either  may  apply  to  a  number 
of  rural  schools,  all  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  same 
body  of  school  officials;  or  it  may  be  applicable  to  the 


126         AGRICULTUR.\L  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

high  and  elementary  schools  in  the  same  building, 
as  is  usually  the  case  in  village  and  centralized  rural 
school  districts.  The  agricultural  teacher,  laboratory 
apparatus,  and  materials  used  for  the  instruction  of 
the  high  school  classes  may  also  be  utiUzed  to  a  very 
large  extent  for  the  elementary  school  classes  in  the 
same  subject;  the  Umitations  being  set  only  by  the 
difference  in  the  character  of  the  work  given  to  these 
classes.  In  the  case  of  the  scattered  rural  schools, 
however,  the  Umitations  are  still  greater.  The  labora- 
tory cannot  be  conveyed  from  place  to  place,  neither 
is  it  usually  foimd  feasible  to  employ  an  itinerant 
teacher  of  agriculture;  but  the  limited  amount  of  ap- 
paratus needed  in  teaching  rural  school  agriculture, 
and  some  of  the  materials,  may  easily  be  conveyed 
from  school  to  school  according  to  some  plan  of  pro- 
gression. Especially  is  this  true  under  district  and 
township  supervision.  Even  in  states  having  county 
supervision,  the  county  might  be  divided  into  "co- 
operative districts."  The  writer  knows  of  an  instance 
where  the  same  milk  tester  was  used  in  the  agricul- 
tural instruction  of  the  eleven  different  rural  schools 
of  a  township. 

2.  Cooperative  use  of  equipment  and  materials  in 
the  second  sense  has  especial  reference  to  the  classes 
of  a  single  school  in  different  scientific  subjects.  Many 
of  the  physical  and  biological  principles  and  laws  are 
found  in  two  or  more  of  the  subjects  pursued  as  sepa- 
rate courses  of  study  in  our  schools.     For  example, 


COOPERATIVE  USE  OF  EQUIPMENT  127 

the  principle  of  "centrifugal  force"  is  considered  in 
both  the  subject  of  physics  and  in  agriculture:  in  the 
former,  as  a  purely  scientific  principle,  and  in  the  lat- 
ter, as  a  practical  application  in  the  testing  of  milk 
and  the  separation  of  cream.  In  the  former  case,  the 
principle  may  be  illustrated  by  means  of  a  "centrif- 
ugal machine";  while  in  the  latter  a  milk  tester  is  used. 
If  the  school  teaches  both  physics  and  agriculture, 
the  milk  tester  may  be  used  equally  well  in  both 
classes — in  one  to  illustrate,  in  the  other  to  apply  the 
centrifugal  principle. 

A  suggestive  list  of  various  pieces  of  apparatus 
and  a  few  materials  that  may  be  used  in  both  the 
teaching  of  agriculture  and  in  some  other  science  usually 
taught  in  the  public  schools  is  given  below: — 

Apparatus 

1.  The  milk  tester — physics,  centrifugal  force. 

2.  The  cream  separator — ^physics,  centrifugal  force. 

3.  The  drainage  apparatus — physics,  pressure  of  free 

liquids,  capillarity,  porosity,  saturation,  impenetra- 
bility. 

4.  The  riding  plow — physics,  principle  of  moments. 

5.  The  corn  plow — physics,  classes  of  levers. 

6.  The  pruning  shears — ^physics,  lever  of  the  first  class. 

7.  Farm  machinery — physics,  elementary  machines. 

8.  The  seed-corn  tester — botany,  growth  of  stem,  roots, 

root-hairs. 

9.  Soil  tubes — physics,  capillarity,  adhesion,  porosity. 
10.  The  balance — physics,  chemistry,  mass. 


128         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

11.  The  magnifier — botany,  zoology. 

12.  The  microscope — biology. 

13.  The  Bunsen  burner — physics,  chemistry,  biology. 

14.  Test  tubes — physics,  chemistry,  biology. 

15.  Flasks — physics,  chemistry. 

16.  The  graduate — physics,  chemistry,  biology. 

17.  The  hydrometer — physics,  chemistry. 

18.  The  thistle  tube — chemistry. 

19.  The  pipette — physics,  chemistry,  biology. 

20.  The  stand  and  rings — physics,  chemistry,  biology. 

21.  The  thermometer — physics,  chemistry,  biology. 

22.  A  set  of  measures — ^physics. 

23.  A  yard-and-meter  stick — ^physics. 

24.  A  portable  oven — biology. 

Materials 

1.  Sulphuric  acid — physics,  chemistry,  biology. 

2.  Chemicals — chemistry,  physics,  biology. 

3.  Gravel,  sand,  and  soil — physical  geography,  botany. 

4.  Domestic  animals — zoology. 

5.  Domestic  plants — botany. 

6.  Litmus  paper — chemistry. 

7.  Specimen  mounts — biology. 

8.  Seeds — botany. 

9.  FertiHzer  ingredients — chemistry. 
10.  Tree  seedlings — botany. 

Moving  pictures  seem  to  offer  another  promising 
method  for  illustrative  teaching  in  agriculture  through 
cooperation  of  a  large  number  of  schools  with  mov- 
ing picture  film  companies.    Moving  picture  cameras 


COOPERATIVE  USE  OF  EQUIPMENT  129 

may  be  operated  at  plowing,  sheepshearing,  apple- 
packing,  and  other  agricultural  contests;  at  state  fairs, 
animal  shows,  and  various  exhibits  of  agricultural 
machines  and  products;  at  the  agricultural  colleges 
and  experiment  stations;  and  on  the  best  farms  in 
various  sections  of  the  country.  Satisfactory  moving 
picture  machines  may  now  be  installed  by  schools  at  a 
very  moderate  cost.  By  means  of  them,  not  only 
school  children,  but  the  adults  of  whole  commun- 
ities may  be  entertainingly  instructed  in  the  best 
farm  practices,  in  the  latest  inventions  applicable  to 
the  agricultural  industry,  and  in  comparative  hus- 
bandry. Famous  animals  in  all  but  their  Uving  pres- 
ence may  be  brought  to  every  community  at  a  trifling 
cost.  The  various  uses  to  which  this  method  may  be 
put  will  naturally  expand  in  the  usual  process  of  evolu- 
tion. 

Review  of  Chapter  XII 

What  will  determine  the  kind  of  apparatus  to  be  used  in 
teaching  agriculture?  Why  should  the  use  of  good  appa- 
ratus be  encouraged?  Why  is  the  teaching  of  scientific 
subjects  relatively  expensive?  How  may  this  expense 
be  reduced?  Explain  two  different  ways  in  which  there 
may  be  cooperation  in  the  use  of  apparatus,  equipment, 
and  materials.  Recite  a  list  of  agricultural  topics  in  the 
teaching  of  which  use  may  be  made  of  the  apparatus, 
equipment,  or  materials  commonly  used  in  teaching  other 
sciences.  What  use  may  be  made,  cooperatively,  of  the 
moving  picture  machine  and  films? 

AGMC.   EDUC. — 9 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  AGRICULTURAL   DEMONSTRATION  FIELD 
AND  HOME  PROJECTS 

In  order  to  afford  pupils  an  opportunity  to  ac- 
quire an  agricultural  experience,  to  make  practical 
applications  of  their  knowledge,  to  demonstrate  or 
verify  certain  agricultural  principles,  and  in  some  in- 
stances to  make  agricultural  experiments,  there  are 
now  two  methods  in  common  use:  namely,  the  agri- 
cultural demonstration  field  and  the  home  project.  As 
methods  to  secure  certain  ends,  both  have  demonstrated 
their  value;  both,  also,  have  their  limitations. 

I.  The  Demonstration  Field 

The  school  garden  was  the  forerunner  of  the  demon- 
stration field.  With  the  rise  of  nature  study  as  a 
school  subject,  school  gardens  came  into  being  and 
became  a  valuable  adjunct  to  nature-study  teaching. 
Not  only  does  the  school  garden  bring  the  child  into  inti- 
mate contact  with  nature,  but  from  it  are  drawn  valu- 
able materials  for  study  in  the  classroom.  The  school- 
garden  movement  in  America  has  been  mostly  confined 
to  the  cities,  where  it  has  attained  its  most  eminent 
success.  With  but  few  exceptions,  however,  the  move- 
ment has  never  succeeded  well  in  the  villages  and  the 

130 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  131 

open  country.  There  are  many  reasons  for  this.  First, 
the  children  of  the  open  country  and  villages  have 
ample  gardening  experience  in  the  family  gardens 
at  their  own  homes,  and  the  school  garden  is  usually 
looked  upon  by  the  children  as  an  unnecessary  enter- 
prise, or  a  sort  of  "play  garden"  when  compared  with 
the  real  garden  at  home.  Secondly,  the  children  of 
the  rural  districts  and  villages  are  kept  busy  by  the 
many  chores  of  the  home  and  there  is  Kttle  or  no  "idle 
energy"  to  be  kept  busy  as  in  case  of  thousands  of 
city  children  who  never  come  to  know,  experimentally, 
the  valuable  training  that  results  from  doing  chores. 
Thirdly,  the  homes  of  the  children  of  the  country  are 
too  distantly  scattered  to  permit  the  close  and  fre- 
quent attention  necessary  to  make  school  gardening 
enterprises  successful.  There  may  be  additional  rea- 
sons, but  these  are  the  most  obvious. 

The  school  garden  has  come  to  be  an  institution  of 
the  grades  in  city  schools.  It  is  the  adjunct  of  the 
nature-study  course,  and  is  dominated  by  nature- 
study  methods.  It  is  not  intended  to  serve  scientific 
purposes,  but  the  purposes  of  nature  study.  The 
gardens  are  usually  small,  consisting  of  back  yards 
and  vacant  city  lots.  The  plots  of  individual  pupils 
frequently  measure  only  5  feet  by  10  feet,  or  even  less. 
The  economic  aim  seldom  receives  serious  considera- 
tion from  the  practical  standpoint.  The  school  garden, 
encumbered  with  its  traditional  ideas  and  practices, 
its  limitations  in  purpose,  its  restrictions  in  size,  and 


132         AGRICULTURAL   EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

its  lack  of  definite  scientific  aims,  is  ill  adapted  to  serve 
the  best  purposes  of  school  agriculture.  The  school- 
garden  idea,  as  it  exists  to-day,  needs  to  be  greatly 
modified,  in  respect  to  purpose,  organization,  manage- 
ment, and  size  when  used  as  an  adjunct  of  school  agri- 
culture; and  even  another  name  is  suggested  to  indicate 
the  truer  meaning  of  the  piece  of  ground  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  class  in  elementary  or  secondary  agri- 
culture.^ 

*  The  following  references  are  given  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
desire  to  make  a  further  study  of  the  school  garden : 

Jewell,  James  Ralph:  Agricultural  Education  Including  Nature 
Study  and  School  Gardens,  pp.  148.  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education, 
No.  2,  1907.    (See  Bibliography,  pp.  128-133.) 

Greene,  Louise:  Among  School  Gardens,  pp.  388,  1910.  Charities 
Publication  Committee,  New  York. 

Davis,  B.  M.:  School  Gardens  for  California  Schools,  pp.  79,  1905. 
Bulletin  No.  i,  State  Normal  School,  Chico,  California. 

Sipe,  Susan  B. :  School  Gardening  and  Nature  Study  hi  English  Rural 
Schools  and  in  London,  pp.  37.  U.  S.  Ofl&ce  of  Experiment  Stations, 
Bulletin  204,  1909.     Washington,  D.  C. 

Galloway,  B.  T.:  School  Gardens,  pp.  47,  1905.  Bulletin  No.  160, 
U.  S.  Ofl&ce  of  Experiment  Stations,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Babcock,  Ernest  B.:  Suggestions  for  Garden  Work  in  California 
Schools,  pp.  48,  1909.  Circular  46,  University  of  California,  College 
of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California. 

McCready,  S.  B.:  Gardening  for  Schools,  pp.  ^2,  1906.  Bulletin 
152,  Ontario  Department  of  Agriculture,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Pierce,  John  B.:  School  Gardening,  pp.  11,  Hampton  Leaflets, 
April,  1906.    Hampton  Institute  Press,  Hampton,  Va. 

Macfeat,  Minnie:  Elementary  Agriculture  and  School  Gardening, 
pp.  40,  Bulletin  No.  4,  April,  1910.  Winthrop  Normal  and  Industrial 
College,  Rock  Hill,  S.  C. 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  133 

The  demonstration-field  idea  is  a  more  serious  effort 
to  apply  systematically  the  principles  and  practices 
of  scientific  agriculture  to  the  management  of  the  soil 
and  the  cultivation  and  production  of  farm  and  garden 
crops.  Here  is  where  the  pupils  are  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  apply  much  of  the  knowledge  of  agriculture 
which  they  have  acquired  during  the  school  year. 
After  they  have  learned  about  plants  and  their  culti- 
vation, soil  and  the  principles  of  its  management,  op- 
portunity should  be  given  the  pupils  to  have  some 
practical  experience  in  the  art  of  agriculture.  To  learn 
the  theoretical  principles  of  potato  growing  is  not 
sufficient;  the  boy  needs,  in  addition,  to  get  on  the 
business  end  of  a  hoe  or  plow.  The  demonstration 
field  affords  a  practical  means  for  accomplishing  this 
purpose.  It  is  here  where  about  half  of  the  year's  work 
is  correlated  and  summarized. 

Gang,  E.:  School  Gardens,  pp.  1067-1084,  Report  of  U.  S.  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  for  1898-99.    (Historical.) 

School  and  Home  Gardening,  pp.  45.  Bulletin  No.  31, 1910.  Bureau 
of  Education,  Manila,  P.  I. 

Nathan,  Stella  and  Miller,  Caro:  Lessons  in  Gardening  and  Nature 
Study,  pp.  37.    Director  School  Gardens,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Corbett,  L.  C:  The  School  Garden,  pp.  40,  1905.  Farmers'  Bulletin 
218,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Various  publications  of  the  Home  Gardening  Association  of  Cleve- 
land,  Ohio. 

Annual  reports  of  the  Winnebago  Coimty  Schools  by  Co.  Supt. 
0.  J.  Kern,  Rockford,  III. 

The  Rural  Educator,  Vol.  Ill,  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  and  4  (January  to 
April,  1914)  The  Rural  Educator  Co.,  Columbus,  Ohio. 


134         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

It  makes  little  difference,  from  the  educational 
point  of  view,  whether  the  field  is  owned  and  operated 
by  the  school,  or  whether  fields  at  home  are  at  the 
disposal  of  the  pupils.  In  most  rural  districts  and  in 
many  villages,  it  will  be  found  impracticable  to  main- 
tain a  school  field.  Where  it  is  found  practicable,  the 
school  demonstration  field  is  to  be  recommended.  To 
other  schools,  a  field  at  home  for  each  pupil  will  be  a 
valuable  adjunct  to  the  work  in  agriculture.  In  both 
cases  the  teacher  of  agriculture  should  be  the  general 
supervisor  of  the  work  carried  forward. 

The  demonstration  field  is  to  a  course  in  school 
agriculture,  what  the  laboratory  is  to  a  course  in  phys- 
ics. The  field  should  in  fact  be  one  of  the  out-of-door 
laboratories  of  the  agricultural  class.  It  is  better  than 
any  blackboard,  for  it  deals  with  first-hand  materials. 
Its  examples  are  Kving  reahties  that  challenge  the  most 
skillful  master.  Life  and  increase  are  the  rewards  of 
the  young  farmer's  success;  death,  the  result  of  his 
failure.  Familiar  life  problems  are  presented  in  its 
management  wherein  the  common  school  subjects — as 
arithmetic,  composition,  reading,  geography,  and  phys- 
iology— are  utilized  in  finding  their  solutions.  The 
mistakes  of  the  field  are  not  easily  erased,  and  their 
stubborn  persistence  teaches  valuable  lessons  not 
easily  forgotten.  On  the  other  hand,  the  successes  do 
not  easily  fade  but  become  more  apparent  with  each 
day's  growth,  continually  inspiring  the  ambition  of  the 
boy  to  greater  and  better  achievements.     Without 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  135 

further  discussing  the  educational  values  of  this  idea,  let 
us  turn  to  the  practical  phases  of  the  planning  and  the 
making  of  a  demonstration  field.  What  we  have  fur- 
ther to  say  on  this  subject  is  especially  appHcable  to  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  and  to  the  high  school. 

The  size  of  the  field  will  depend  on  the  number  of 
pupils  who  are  to  cultivate  and  care  for  it.  Each 
pupil  should  have  at  least  one  eightieth  part  of  an 
acre — two  square  rods — ^if  the  work  is  to  be  done  at 
the  school;  if  the  work  is  to  be  done  at  home,  a  much 
larger  area  might  easily  be  cared  for.  The  present 
discussion  will  concern  itself  with  the  school  demon- 
stration field,  and  appropriate  modifications  may  easily 
be  made  in  the  case  of  the  home  field  or  club  acre. 
One  fortieth  of  an  acre,  or  more,  may  be  given  to  each 
pupil,  if  the  school  has  a  sufiicient  amount  of  land  at 
its  disposal  and  the  pupil  promises  to  give  the  extra 
care  needed  outside  of  school  hours.  However,  one 
eightieth  of  an  acre  will  be  the  unit  here  used.  If  the 
class  in  agriculture  numbers  twenty  pupils,  a  one- 
fourth-acre  tract  of  land  will  be  sufiicient  for  provid- 
ing an  individual  plot  for  each  pupil.  But  there  is  an- 
other consideration.  It  has  been  found,  by  experience, 
that  it  is  advantageous  to  have  about  one  fourth  of  the 
field  cultivated  and  cared  for  by  the  pupils  in  common. 

The  size  and  shape  of  the  unit  or  individual  plot 
should  be  one  rod  wide  by  two  rods  long.  Four  of  these 
plots  are  conveniently  placed  together  in  one  group. 
Around  each  group  should  be  a  two-foot  path.   By  such 


136 


AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 


an  arrangement,  each  plot  will  have  a  path  on  a  long 
and  a  short  side.  The  following  diagram  of  a  garden  wiU 
make  this  arrangement  clear.    A  three-foot  path  should 


~ 

Ji                                                    1 

w 

/                                                        i 

9 

A) 

3 

4 

II 

It 

]■- 

S 

« 

13 

/« 

7 

j.l- , 

It 

surround  the  field.  The  longer  dimension  of  the  plots 
may  extend  in  any  direction,  but  the  preference  lies 
with  the  east  and  west.  It  is  recommended  that 
it  be  planned  to  run  the  rows  lengthwise  of  the  plots, 
and  that  the  rows  extend  continuously  across  all 
of  them  from  one  end  of  the  field  to  the  other.  This 
will  make  cultivation  by  horse  power  more  easily  per- 
formed. The  tall  plants  should  be  placed  in  the  most 
northerly  plots  and  rows,  and  those  that  do  not  extend 
far  above  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  their  habits 
of  growth  should  be  kept  to  the  south  side  of  the  field. 
In  this  way  no  plants  will  be  shaded  by  taller  ones 
standing  to  the  south  of  them.  If  a  fence  must  be 
built  about  the  field,  it  is  recommended  that  the  ends 
be  made  of  removable  panels,  or  a  strip  of  sod  be  main- 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  137 

tained  at  each  end  of  the  field  inside  the  fence,  so  that 
in  using  a  horse  in  cultivation,  he  may  be  turned  out- 
side of  the  cultivated  area  when  the  ends  of  the  rows 
are  reached. 

After  the  site  has  been  chosen,  the  ground  should  be 
plowed.  This  should  be  done  as  early  as  possible  in  the 
spring,  if,  indeed,  it  was  not  done  the  previous  fall. 
After  the  soil  has  been  somewhat  pulverized  by  disking 
and  harrowing,  the  area  should  be  measured  off  into 
groups  of  individual  plots,  with  proper  allowances 
for  the  paths  between  the  groups  and  around  the 
whole  field.  The  writer  has  found  it  advantageous  to 
measure  aroimd  the  whole  space,  driving  stakes  at  the 
intersections  of  all  boundaries  of  plots  with  the  borders, 
as  indicated  by  the  dots  in  the  diagram.  Cords  of 
binder  twine  may  then  be  stretched  across  the  field 
both  ways  and  attached  to  the  border  stakes.  After- 
wards a  stake  should  be  driven  at  the  intersections  of 
the  cords,  each  of  which  should  be  fastened  to  the  stakes 
with  staples.  After  this  is  done,  all  cords  crossing  paths 
(indicated  by  dotted  lines  in  the  diagram)  should  be 
cut  away.  Each  plot  will  then  be  inclosed  by  a  cord. 
When  the  crops  are  up,  the  cords  may  be  removed  if 
desired.  This  method  saves  much  unnecessary  meas- 
uring and  walking. 

When  the  plots  have  been  staked  and  Uned,  they 
should  be  numbered  with  markers  and  assigned  to  the 
pupils.  A  group  of  plots,  equal  in  area  to  one  fourth  or 
one  fifth  of  the  whole  field  should  be  reserved  for  the 


138        AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

"common  lot"  where  all  the  pupils  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  work  at  various  times,  especially  if  any  finish 
their  work  before  the  others  are  through.  Work  will 
then  begin  on  the  preparation  of  the  seed  bed  as  soon 
as  the  season  and  the  condition  of  the  soil  will  permit. 

Under  proper  restrictions,  it  will  be  found  wise  for 
the  teacher  to  permit  the  pupils  to  select  the  crops  they 
are  to  grow.  The  crop  or  crops  selected  should  be  made 
the  object  of  special  study.  In  some  cases  it  may  be 
sufficient  merely  to  produce  a  harvest;  but  in  most  cases 
some  experiment  should  be  made  or  some  agricultural 
fact  demonstrated  or  verified.  For  example,  if  a  boy 
should  choose  potatoes  for  his  plot,  it  might  perhaps  be 
sufficient  for  him  to  demonstrate  his  ability  to  raise  a 
crop  of  potatoes.  In  addition,  he  might  demonstrate, 
for  example,  the  values  of  mulch  by  cultivating  the 
halves  of  his  plot  in  different  ways.  Two  or  more  boys 
might  work  together  to  show  the  effect  of  various 
methods  of  cultivation;  two  boys  might  show  the  rela- 
tive values  of  dust  and  straw  mulches;  a  third  and  a 
fourth,  the  relative  effects  of  deep  and  shallow  planting; 
and  a  fiLfth  and  a  sixth  the  difference  resulting  from 
spraying  and  the  lack  of  it.  These  are  merely  sugges- 
tive experiments  and  demonstrations.  Each  crop 
presents  its  problems,  for  the  solution  of  which  ex- 
periments may  be  carried  on;  and  its  facts,  which  afford 
the  bases  for  demonstrations  and  verifications.  In  each 
case  there  should  be  definite  and  quite  complete  plans 
of  work  prearranged. 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD 


139 


Not  the  least  important  feature  is  the  record  of  each 
plot.  This  should  be  concise  and  complete.  Each  oper- 
ation from  the  breaking  of  the  ground  to  the  gathering 
of  the  crop  should  be  described  and  dated.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  season,  the  weather,  and  the  soil  should  be 
noted;  the  rainfall  recorded;  and  no  factor  that  might  in 
any  way  influence  the  crop  for  better  or  for  worse  should 
be  overlooked.  The  hours  of  labor  and  all  expenditures 
and  receipts  should  be  noted.  The  accompanying  form 
for  making  a  chronological  record  has  proved  quite 
satisfactory. 

AGRICULTURAL  DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  AND  HOME  PROJECT  WORK 
AT  THE  OHIO  STATE  UNIVERSITY 

CHRONOLOGICAL  PLOT  AND  PROJECT  RECORD 

Sheet  No 


Instructor's  Record 


Year 


Name  and  Address  of  Agriculturist 


Crop  or  Project  Size,  No.  or  Location  of  Plot  or  Project 

Draw  map  of  field  to  scale  on  back  of  first  sheet.  Give  statement  of  pur- 
pose and  plan  of  work  on  back  of  second  sheet.  Keep  record  strictly 
up  to  date. 


DATE 
Month— Day 

OPERA- 
TION OR 
OBSERVA- 
TION 
What,  When, 
Where,  How, 
Why,  etc. 

LABOR 

Time, 
Rate, 
Cost 

MATERIALS 

AND  TOOLS 

USED 

Quantity, 

Quality, 

Wear,  Cost 

RESULTS 
Immediate, 

Final, 
Production 

FINANCIAL  AC- 
COUNT 

Income 

Expenses 

When  the  crop  is  sold  and  the  cashbook  balanced,  a 
profit  should  be  shown.     Otherwise  the  methods  of 


140         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

agriculture  employed  are  not  to  be  recommended.  In 
case  of  demonstrations  conducted  to  show  the  inferior- 
ity of  certain  agricultural  practices,  a  deficit  may  be 
expected.  The  same  results  may  also  be  expected  in 
connection  with  some  experiments.  A  deficit  resulting 
from  any  method  of  agriculture  will  tend  to  prove  that 
method  an  undesirable  one.  The  method  of  cultivation 
and  care  which  shows  the  greatest  returns,  other  things 
equal,  is  the  one  preferred;  for  the  object  of  scientific 
agriculture  is  to  secure  the  greatest  production  of 
superior  crops  at  the  least  cost  without  deterioration 
in  soil  fertility. 

It  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  the  demon- 
stration field  should  be  made  an  economic  success  to 
the  extent  of  conducting  it  on  a  self-supporting  basis. 
This  can  be  done,  and  has  been  done.^  The  number  of 
questionable  agricultural  practices  to  be  demonstrated 
in  the  school  field,  should  therefore  be  limited  during 
any  one  year,  and  extensive  experimentation  cannot 
be  permitted.  It  is  the  chief  function  of  the  demon- 
stration field  to  illustrate  and  to  inculcate  good  and 
acceptable  practices  of  agriculture  which  have  been 
thoroughly  tested  and  verified  by  the  agricultural  experi- 
ment stations.  Examples  of  bad  practices  will  probably 
be  in  sufficient  evidence  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood 
to  emphasize  the  good  methods  of  the  school  demon- 
stration field  by  way  of  contrast.    Experiments  should 

*  See  A.  G.  Fletcher  on  "  Running  the  School  Farm  on  a  Paying 
Basis  "  in  The  Rural  Educator  for  June,  1914  (Vol.  Ill,  pp.  107-108). 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  141 

be  carried  on  in  about  the  same  degree — considering 
area  and  probable  economic  loss — as  can  be  recom- 
mended to  the  man  who  is  actively  engaged  in  success- 
ful farming. 

To  place  the  school  demonstration  field  on  a  paying 
basis  and  keep  it  there,  will,  of  course,  require  alertness, 
application,  business  ability,  and  industry  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher  of  agriculture  and  his  pupils.  Of  course, 
the  school  and  community  should  be  willing  to  give  the 
subject  of  school  agriculture  adequate  encouragement, 
similar  to  the  encouragement  which  is  actually  given 
to  the  industry  by  rural  society  as  a  whole.  Laziness 
or  inefficiency  in  either  pupils  or  teacher  cannot  be 
tolerated.  The  success  of  the  demonstration  field 
ought  to  be  made  the  crucial  test  of  the  success  of  the 
instruction  in  agriculture.  For  this  reason,  credit  should 
not  be  granted  the  pupil  until  after  the  harvest  and  sale 
of  the  products  of  his  plot — especially,  if  the  under- 
taking is  supposed  to  be  an  economic  one.  The  same 
rule  of  economic  production  should  also  be  appHed  to 
the  teacher  of  agriculture  in  order  to  determine  the 
advisability  of  his  retention  as  the  teacher  of  this 
subject. 

What  is  said  in  reference  to  the  teacher's  respon- 
sibiHty  must  be  carefully  qualified  by  the  attitude  of  the 
community  and  school  toward  the  subject  of  agricul- 
tural instruction.  It  is  also  to  be  expected  that  the 
first  cost  of  purchasing  the  field  and  the  equipment 
necessary  for  its  operation  will  be  borne  by  the  school 


142         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

authorities.  The  cost  of  operating  and  the  upkeep 
should  be  the  basis  of  calculating  the  profitableness 
of  the  undertaking,  and  the  computation  should  extend 
over  a  number  of  years,  because  some  unfavorable 
years  might  naturally  show  a  deficit.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  school  farm  should  not  be  expected  to  become 
a  source  of  revenue  to  the  school  or  community. 

A  Suggestive  List  of  Demonstrations,  Veri- 
fications, AND  Experiments  for  the  School 
Demonstration  Field 

I.  Demonstrations 

By  the  most  approved  methods,  as  advocated  by 
your  state  agricultural  experiment  station,  or  another 
acceptable  authority,  raise  the  following: 

Garden  Crops 

1.  One  plot  of  potatoes. 

2.  One  plot  of  tomatoes. 

3.  One  plot  of  cabbage. 

4.  One  plot  of  beets. 

5.  One  plot  of  onions. 

6.  One  plot  onion  sets  from  seed. 

7.  One  plot  of  beans. 

8.  One  plot  of  peas. 

9.  One  plot  of  turnips. 

10.  One  plot  of  pickles. 

11.  One  plot  of  squash. 

12.  One  plot  of  muskmelons. 

13.  One  plot  of  watermelons. 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  143 

14.  One  half  plot  of  radishes. 

15.  One  half  plot  of  lettuce. 

16.  One  half  plot  of  celery. 

17.  One  half  plot  of  peppers. 

18.  One  half  plot  of  assorted  flowers. 
Other  vegetables. 

Field  Crops 

1.  Two  plots  of  field  corn. 

2.  One  plot  of  sweet  corn  for  seed. 

3.  One  plot  of  sweet  corn  for  roasting  ears. 

4.  One  plot  of  pop  corn. 

5.  Two  plots  of  Kafir  com. 

6.  One  plot  of  wheat. 

7.  One  plot  of  oats. 

8.  One  plot  of  buckwheat. 

9.  One  plot  of  alfalfa. 

10.  One  plot  of  clover. 

11.  One  plot  of  timothy. 

12.  One  plot  of  vetch. 

13.  One  plot  of  soy  beans. 
Other  field  crops. 

Small  Fruits  and  Perennials 

To  be  continued  at  least  two  years  and  assigned  to  one 
pupil  during  each  year. 

1.  One  plot  of  strawberries. 

2.  One  plot  of  raspberries. 

3.  One  plot  of  blackberries. 

4.  One  plot  of  roses. 

5.  One  plot  of  rhubarb. 
Additional  perennials. 


144         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

Miscellaneous 

Perform  one  of  the  following  tasks  in  accordance  with 
approved  methods: 

1.  Prune  one  or  more  of  the  trees  of  the  school  orchard 
or  grounds. 

2.  Plant  a  tree  in  the  school  orchard  or  grounds  and 
care  for  it  for  one  year. 

3.  Raise  a  plot  of  apple  seedlings. 

4.  Tongue  graft  one  half  of  the  apple  seedlings  raised 
in  number  3. 

5.  Set  out  the  grafted  trees  into  the  field  nursery  plots. 

6.  Sell  the  year-old  nursery  stock  from  one  plot. 

7.  Raise  a  plot  of  peach  seedlings. 

8.  Bud  one  half  of  the  peach  seedlings  raised  in  num- 
ber 7. 

9.  Set  out  the  budded  stock  of  number  8. 

10.  Demonstrate  a  three-year  rotation. 

11.  Demonstrate  the  value  of  a  catch  crop  as  a  source  of 
humus. 

12.  Demonstrate  the  process  of  inoculating  the  soil 
of  a  plot  with  soil  taken  from  a  field  of  clover  showing 
tubercles. 

Additional  agricultural  activities  may  be  assigned  as 
tasks. 

2.  Verifications 

The  agricultural  experiment  stations  have  estab- 
lished many  facts  in  regard  to  the  best  methods  to  be 
followed  in  agricultural  operations  which  they  recom- 
mend.   Some  of  these  facts  need  to  be  verified  to  make 


SCHOOL  BOYS  AT  WORK  ON  THEIR  HOME  PROJECTS 


DEMONSTRATION  FIELD  14^ 

their  meanings  clear  and  importance  impressive.  Many 
farmers  need  to  be  "shown."  Some  of  the  things  that 
may  profitably  be  verified  from  time  to  time  in  various 
commmiities  are  the  following: 

1.  Wheat  grows  from  seed  wheat,  and  cheat  from  cheat 
seed. 

2.  Better  corn  is  produced  by  shallow  cultivation  than 
by  deep. 

3.  Alternate  rows  may  be  planted  with  corn  No.  i  and 
No.  2,  but  No.  I  may  be  kept  pure,  if  all  the  tassels  are 
removed  from  No.  2. 

4.  When  white  corn  becomes  crossed  with  yellow  corn, 
the  cross  is  shown  by  the  presence  of  reddish  or  yellowish 
coloring  along  the  sides  of  the  grains.  When  the  cross  is 
vice  versa,  the  grains  are  capped  with  white. 

5.  Potatoes  should  be  treated  for  scab  before  being 
planted. 

6.  It  pays  to  spray  potatoes. 

7.  Root  crops  are  injured  by  the  apphcation  of  hme  to 
the  soil  in  which  they  are  grown. 

8.  Leguminous  crops  will  not  do  well  in  a  sour  soil; 
the  conditions  for  their  growth  can  be  greatly  improved  by 
the  use  of  lime  to  sweeten  the  soil. 

9.  Crops  grow  better  in  a  drained,  than  in  an  undrained 
soil. 

10.  A  dwarfed  apple  tree  may  be  produced  by  grafting 
an  apple  scion  on  a  quince  root. 

11.  It  pays  to  spray  fruit  trees. 

12.  Certain  hardwood  plants  may  be  propagated  by 
layering. 

AGRIC.  EDUC. — 10 


146         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

3.  Experiments 

It  is  perhaps  admissible  for  young  people  to  under- 
take "experiments,"  provided  the  problems  proposed 
for  solution  are  not  too  difficult;  but  the  work  necessary 
for  their  solution  should  not  be  extended  over  more  than 
two  or  three  years.  Experimentation,  in  its  true  mean- 
ing, is  an  undertaking  for  adults  who  have  reached  some 
degree  of  specialization,  each  working  in  the  field  in 
which  he  proposes  to  make  original  research.  However, 
pupils  in  the  public  schools  may  be  taught  and  en- 
couraged to  investigate  by  experimentation  facts  and 
principles  which  they  do  not  understand.  If  possible, 
the  results  of  such  work  should  not  be  obtainable  in 
any  other  way,  else,  should  the  pupil  learn  the  fact  or 
principle  by  reading,  his  "experiment"  becomes  merely 
a  verification  of  something  that  he  already  knows  to  be 
common  knowledge.  Pubhc  school,  even  high  school, 
students  need  not  be  expected  to  discover  many  new 
things  that  will  enhance  to  any  appreciable  degree 
the  sum  total  of  human  knowledge.  However,  these 
yotmg  scientists-in-the-making  may  profitably  learn  the 
method  by  which  new  facts  and  principles  are  dis- 
covered to  the  race.  Also,  the  scientific  method  may 
find  a  place  in  the  future  operations  of  the  farms 
of  which  these  pupils  may  become  the  owners  or 
managers. 

The  following  brief  Ust  of  experiments  will  be  sugges- 
tive; others  may  readily  be  added. 


HOME  PROJECTS  147 

1.  What  is  the  best  depth  for  planting  corn,  and  why? 

2.  What  is  the  most  economical  distance  for  planting  a 
certain  variety  of  sweet  corn?  (Judgment  to  be  based  on 
profit.) 

3.  Will  large  seed  potatoes  produce  a  better  crop  than 
small  seed  potatoes? 

4.  Is  it  a  good  practice  to  hill  potatoes? 

5.  Is  a  straw  mulch  better  than  a  dust  mulch  for  raising 
the  potato  crop?  From  which  method  will  the  greater 
profit  be  realized? 

6.  Can  a  tomato  scion  be  grafted  upon  a  potato  stock 
and  two  different  crops  produced  by  the  same  plant — a 
crop  of  potatoes  underground,  and  a  crop  of  tomatoes 
above  ground? 

7.  Should  tomato  vines  be  staked,  or  allowed  to  fall 
to  the  ground?  Which  method  will  produce  more?  Will 
there  be  any  difference  in  the  quaHty  of  the  product? 

8.  Which  is  the  better  method  for  cultivating  beets, 
by  planting  them  in  the  top  of  ridges  or  by  level  culture? 

9.  Test  the  soil  of  all  the  plots  of  the  demonstration 
field  for  acidity. 

10.  Determine  the  fertiUzer  needs  of  a  group  of  plots. 

n.  Home  Projects 

A  home  project  is  a  thing  to  be  done  on  the  home 
farm,  under  the  conditions  which  it  presents,  involving 
an  application  of  the  student's  school  training.^  In 
other  words,  it  is  a  definite  agricultural  task  assigned 

1  See  Chapter  V  of  the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education  on  Agri- 
cultural Education,  which  was  submitted  to  the  Legislature  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, 191 1. 


148        AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

to  the  pupil  to  be  worked  out  at  home.  It  should  be 
adapted  to  the  pupil's  home  conditions  and  restricted 
in  its  size  to  his  capabilities.  The  home  task  is  supposed 
to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  teacher  of  agriculture, 
yet  the  pupil's  home  folks  cooperate  with  him  in  carry- 
ing the  project  forward  to  a  successful  issue.  The  school 
furnishes  the  knowledge  and  the  direction,  while  the 
home  gives  suitable  encouragement  and  help. 

In  beginning  a  series  of  projects  in  any  community, 
care  should  be  used  not  to  undertake  anything  too 
difficult.  If  there  is  a  similarity  among  several  of  the 
projects,  a  certain  amount  of  competition  may  be 
evoked,  while  the  work  may  be  more  easily  directed  by 
the  teacher  in  charge.  When  the  workings  of  the  plan 
have  become  more  familiar  to  the  teacher,  the  pupils, 
and  the  community,  more  comprehensive  projects, 
and  a  greater  variety  of  them,  may  be  undertaken  with 
greater  assurance  of  success  than  if  large  undertakings 
were  attempted  in  the  beginning. 

The  principle  of  economic  results,  which  involves 
the  keeping  of  a  record  of  the  project,  as  well  as  other 
principles  set  forth  in  connection  with  the  demonstra- 
tion-field projects,  are  also  valid  in  connection  with  this 
home  work.  The  home  project  is  usually  a  larger  under- 
taking than  the  work  on  the  demonstration  field,  and 
may  be  carried  on  with  animals  as  well  as  with  plants. 
There  will,  as  a  rule,  be  a  greater  variety  of  activities 
open  to  the  project  phase,  and  work  with  farm  animals 
is  especially  favored.    The  scholastic  work  of  the  school 


HOME  PROJECTS  149 

should  anticipate  and  be  coordinated  with  the  projects 
of  the  pupils. 

The  home  project  and  the  demonstration  garden  are 
frequently  placed  in  antithesis  in  respect  to  their  rela- 
tive merits  in  agricultural  instruction;  nevertheless,  we 
shall  not  here  consent  to  employ  this  method  of  com- 
parison. Both  have  their  legitimate  places  in  modern 
rural  education  and  under  various  conditions  each  may 
in  turn  be  very  satisfactorily  used. 

In  many  educational  systems  it  will  be  found  advan- 
tageous to  use  both  methods  for  securing  to  the  pupils 
the  practical  experience  which  they  need  to  round  out 
their  theoretical  agricultural  training.  The  demon- 
stration field  will  furnish  land  for  landless  pupils.  Both 
plans  will  be  found  valuable  for  extending  the  most 
approved  methods  of  agriculture  to  the  farming  com- 
munities.^ 

A  List  of  Home  Projects 

The  following  list  of  home  projects  may  be  found 
suggestive  to  beginners: 

1.  The  raising  of  an  acre  of  corn  with  profit. 

2.  The  raising  of  one  fourth  acre  of  potatoes  for  profit. 

3.  The  raising  of  one  tenth  acre  of  tomatoes  and  canning 
them,  showing  profit. 

4.  The  raising  of  an  acre  of  wheat  with  profit. 

1  See  C.  G.  Selvig  on  Home  Project  vs.  Laboratory  and  School 
Garden  Plat  Work  for  High  School  Students  in  addresses  delivered 
before  the  Washington  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the 


15©         AGRICULTURAL    EDUCATION   I- OR  TEACHERS 

5.  The  raising  of  an  acre  of  oats  with  proht. 

6.  The  raising  of  a  quarter-acre  of  melons  for  profit. 

7.  The  raising  of  a  quarter-acre  of  strawberries  for  two 
years  for  commercial  purposes. 

8.  The  raising  of  ten  apple  trees,  developing  them  from 
the  seed,  budding  five,  and  grafting  five  of  the  seedlings. 

9.  The  raising  of  one  acre  of  alfalfa  and  keeping  of 
record  to  show  profit  or  loss. 

10.  The  raising  of  a  calf. 

11.  The  raising  of  a  colt. 

12.  The  raising  of  two  pigs. 

13.  The  raising  of  two  sheep. 

14.  The  raising  of  a  cat. 

15.  The  raising  of  a  dog. 

16.  Plant  and  care  for  two  flower  boxes  with  areas  of 
not  less  than  5  square  feet  each. 

17.  Plant  and  care  for  the  family  garden. 

18.  The  raising  of  a  brood  of  chickens  (with  hen),  keeping 
cost  record  to  determine  final  profit. 

19.  Raise  a  brood  of  chickens  using  incubator  and 
brooder. 

20.  Raise  one  fourth  acre  of  pop  corn,  and  present 
record  of  cost  and  receipts. 

21.  Keep  the  expense  and  receipt  record  of  the  farm  for 
one  year. 

Advancement  of  Agricultural  Teaching,  Nov.,  1913.  Bulletin,  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Education,   1914. 

Also  William  T.  Bawden  in  Vocational  Education  for  November, 
1913,  pp.  86-105. 

Stimson,  R.  W.:  The  Massachusetts  Home  Project  Plan  of  Voca- 
tional Agricultural  Education,  Bulletin,  1914,  No.  8.  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 


HOME  PROJECTS  151 

22.  Keep  an  itemized  account  of  all  farm  or  home  in- 
comes and  expenditures  for  30  days. 

23.  Keep  an  itemized  account  of  producing  and  market- 
ing a  field  of  not  less  than  ten  acres  of  corn. 

24.  Plan  and  carry  out  a  three-year  rotation  of  crops. 

25.  Plan  and  build  a  strip  of  road. 

26.  Investigate  and  purchase  the  materials  for  a  fence, 
and  build  it. 

27.  Plan,  estimate  the  cost,  purchase  the  materials  for 
a  ditch,  and  dig  it. 

28.  Try  out  three  kinds  or  brands  of  fertilizers  on  the 
home  place. 

29.  Test  five  kinds  of  fertilizers  on  section  plots  in  a 
cornfield. 

30.  Feed  one  or  two  cows  with  balanced  rations  and  note 
the  effect  on  production  as  compared  with  previous  ratio 
of  production  with  cows  not  scientifically  fed. 

31.  Feed  an  animal  for  sixty  days.  (Pupil  to  determine 
the  ration,  keep  cost  and  production  record  for  profit.) 

32.  Feed  a  pig  for  two  months,  keeping  a  cost  record  of 
labor  and  feed  to  determine  the  profit. 

33.  Test  and  weigh  the  milk  from  two  or  more  cows 
daily  for  one  week  each  month  throughout  one  year. 

34.  Weigh  and  test  the  milk  of  one  cow  for  thirty 
days. 

(Testing  once  each  day,  alternating  morning's  and  evening's 
milk.) 

35.  Produce  one  fourth  acre  of  roasting  ears  and  present 
record  showing  all  expenses  and  incomes  to  show  profit 
or  loss. 

36.  Spray  a  small  orchard  of  about  25  trees. 


152         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

37.  Prune  three  different  kinds  of  fruit  trees  by  ac- 
ceptable methods. 

38.  Set  out  twenty-five  orchard  or  shade  trees. 

39.  Care  for  3-5  fruit  trees  for  one  year. 

40.  Cultivate  ten  acres  of  corn. 

41.  Plow  five  acres  of  ground  with  a  breaking  plow. 

42.  Treat  a  peck  of  seed  potatoes  for  scab  and  compare 
production  with  that  of  an  untreated  peck. 

43.  Treat  ten  bushels  of  seed  wheat  for  stinking  smut 
with  the  formalin  treatment. 

44.  Plan  and  plant  the  home  yard  for  beautification. 
(Cost  record  to  be  kept  and  enhanced  value  of  property 
to  be  determined  by  three  disinterested  persons.) 

45.  Study  twenty  common  farm  birds  with  special  refer- 
ence to  their  identification,  habits,  and  economic  worth 
or  nuisance. 

46.  Collect,  identify,  and  mount  twenty  common  farm 
weeds. 

47.  Collect  twenty  common  insects,  presenting  the  vari- 
ous stages  of  five.    Identify  and  give  economic  importance. 

48.  Make  a  survey  of  a  community  with  reference  to 
neglected  machinery  exposed  to  the  weather. 

49.  Make  a  corn  tester,  and  test  twenty-five  ears  of  seed 
corn. 

50.  Make  a  sawbuck. 

51.  Build  a  hog  cot. 

52.  Make  a  set  of  doubletrees. 

Note. — A  list  of  fourteen  vegetable  projects,  with  detailed  direc- 
tions for  carrying  them  out,  will  be  found  in  Bulletin  No.  i,  191 1,  of 
the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education,  Boston,  entitled  Agri- 
cultural Projects  for  Elementary  Schools;  also  pp.   15-23,  Bulletin 


HOME  PROJECTS  153 

No.  10  (December,  191 2)  entitled,  Junior  Agricultural  Association 
of  Michigan  for  Boys,  Department  of  Agricultural  Education, 
Michigan  Agricultural  College,  East  Lansing.  Project  Study  Outlines 
for  Vegetable  Growing  are  the  subjects  of  two  bulletins  issued  by  the 
Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education  (Boston),  Nmnbers  5  (19 12) 
and  9  (1913).  Home  Projects  for  School  Agriculture  by  A.  W.  Nolan, 
bulletin,  1913,  State  College  of  Agriculture,  Urbana,  111. 

Review  of  Chapter  XIII 

State  briefly — 

Why  school  gardens  have  not  succeeded  well  in  the 
rural  districts.  How  the  school  garden  has  become  an 
adjunct  to  the  city  schools.  The  titles  and  authors  of 
some  of  the  leading  books  and  bulletins  on  school  gardens. 
The  purpose  of  the  demonstration  field.  The  recommenda- 
tions made  in  reference  to  the  size  of  the  field  and  the  in- 
dividual plots.  The  method  of  arrangement  for  the  plots, 
and  other  details  with  reference  to  their  management. 
The  reasons  for  having  a  "common  lot."  Some  of  the 
problems  to  be  worked  out  in  connection  with  the  plots. 
The  items  to  be  noted  in  a  plot  record.  The  reasons  why 
the  demonstration  field  should  be  made  an  economic  success. 
How  both  the  pupil  and  the  teacher  of  agriculture  may  be 
held  responsible  for  making  the  demonstration  field  economi- 
cally successful.  The  distinguishing  difference  among  the 
demonstration,  the  verification,  and  the  experiment.  Name 
a  few  of  each.  What  is  meant  by  the  home  project?  Some 
of  the  things  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  beginning  home-project 
work  in  any  community.  Some  of  the  advantages  of  the 
home-project  method.  Any  disadvantages.  What  kind  of 
work  may  be  used  for  home  projects? 


CHAPTER  XIV 
BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS 

I.  Agricultiiral  Clubs  in  General 

Boys'  and  girls'  clubs  are  to  the  formal  school  work 
in  agriculture  and  home  economics  what  the  hterary 
society  is  to  the  formal  classroom  course  in  English. 
The  theoretical  knowledge  that  has  been  gained  at 
school  is  applied  in  the  club  work;  and  the  art  side  of 
these  practical  subjects,  which  is  so  important  and  which 
cannot  well  be  developed  under  school  conditions,  is 
given  abundant  opportunity  to  contribute  its  share  to 
the  education  of  the  boy  and  girl.  The  club  idea  may 
be  regarded  as  the  democratic  substitute  for  the  appren- 
tice system  of  monarchical  times :  it  places  a  premium 
on  initiative  instead  of  on  blind  imitation  and  sub- 
servient dependence  upon  exphcit  and  minute  direction; 
it  encourages  independence  and  ownership  rather  than 
servitude  for  the  enrichment  of  another;  it  encourages 
economic  production  instead  of  extravagant  methods 
of  husbandry;  it  instills  the  idea  of  the  dignity  of  labor 
and  emphasizes  the  disgrace  of  idleness;  it  provides  for 
economic,  intellectual,  and  social  rewards  to  the  youth 
who  distinguishes  himself  in  its  activities. 

A  club  is  an  association  of  boys  and  girls  who  enter 
into  a  competition  to  determine  who  can  grow,  or  make 

IS4 


AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS  155 

the  most  and  best  products  under  certain  rules,  and  to 
exhibit  samples  of  their  products.  There  are  many 
kinds  of  agricultural  clubs,  as  corn  clubs,  wheat  clubs, 
potato  clubs,  tomato  clubs,  cotton  clubs,  tobacco 
clubs,  pig  clubs,  poultry  clubs,  etc.  Each  club  is 
usually  named  for  that  particular  farm  product  to 
which  special  attention  is  directed  with  reference  to 
learning  about  the  best  practical  methods  for  its  pro- 
duction. Sometimes  the  club  undertakes  several  farm 
activities,  and  then  it  is  usually  designated  as  an 
agricultural  club;  and  this  would  seem  to  be  the  trend 
of  development,  particularly  as  the  club  comes  to  be 
more  favorably  regarded  with  each  passing  year,  as 
a  desirable  auxiliary  organization  of  the  pubhc  school 
system. 

The  purposes  of  the  club,  as  explained  by  Mr.  O.  H. 
Benson,  U.  S.  specialist  in  charge  of  club  work  are  as 
follows:  "To  arouse  interest  and  wholesome  respect  for 
the  farm  and  the  rural  home  in  every  member  at  the 
opportune  time;  to  teach  children  the  elementary 
lessons  of  agriculture  and  true  home  life,  and  to  carry 
to  them  the  useful  and  practical  information  that  has 
been  established  into  facts  at  experiment  stations  and 
crystaUized  in  the  classroom;  to  encourage  club  mem- 
bers to  be  constructive  citizens,  producers  as  well  as  con- 
sumers; to  teach  and  demonstrate  on  the  home  acres 
that  greater  yields  at  less  expense  on  less  acres  are 
entirely  possible  in  American  agriculture;  to  show  the 
relations  of  the  club  acre,  garden  plot,  and  home  interest 


156        AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

to  our  common  school,  its  classroom,  and  the  textbook 
by  systematic  correlations."  ^ 

The  promoting  agencies  of  clubs  are  various.  In 
many  instances  they  are  local  organizations  intimately 
connected  with  the  agricultural  work  of  the  schools. 
This  is,  without  question,  the  best  attachment  of 
agricultural  clubs  for  educational  purposes.  In  some 
states  the  agricultural  colleges  are  the  active  promo- 
tors,  while  in  others  this  work  is  in  the  charge  of  the 
agricultural  experiment  station,  the  state  department 
of  agriculture,  or  the  state  department  of  education. 
Sometimes  two  or  more  of  these  agencies  cooperate  in 
the  advancement  of  club  work.  The  office  of  Farm 
Management  in  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  has,  in  recent  years,  been  very  active  in 
promoting  club  work  in  cooperation  with  some  agency 
in  the  various  states.  The  success  of  the  plan  was  quite 
phenomenal  in  the  Southern  states  and  is  now  develop- 
ing very  rapidly  in  the  Northern  states.  The  purpose 
has  been  expressed  of  extending  the  plan  to  every  state 
of  the  Union.  2 

The  county  Y.  M.  C.  A.  has  been  very  active  in  the 
organization  of  clubs  among  country  boys  and  girls 
with  good  success.    Other  organizations  have  likewise 

^  See  The  Rural  Educator,  Vol.  I,  p.  30. 

*  Complete  information  as  to  the  methods  of  organization,  coopera- 
tion, and  plan  of  work  may  be  secured  by  addressing  Mr.  O.  H. 
Benson,  Specialist  in  charge  of  Club  Work,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 


AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS  157 

been  active,  as  Farmers'  Institute  organizations,  and 
country  churches.  The  popular  nature  of  the  club  is 
apt  to  make  it  especially  liable  to  abuse  for  commercial 
and  political  purposes.  Taking  the  county  as  a  whole, 
and  speaking  of  the  various  kinds  of  rural  industrial 
clubs,  we  may  still  liken  them  to  a  species  of  wild 
animal  in  the  educational  world,  which  is  potential 
with  possibilities,  but  which  needs  yet  to  be  tamed 
and  harnessed.  To  be  most  serviceable  as  an  aid  to 
education,  the  club  needs  to  become  a  recognized 
auxiliary  of  the  public  schools,  under  its  control  and 
management,  and  contributory  to  its  best  teaching  and 
highest  aims  in  rural  and  agricultural  teaching.  Under 
the  patronage  of  the  public  schools,  the  club  idea  seems 
destined  to  reach  its  highest  function  of  serving  public 
education  and  industrial  development  among  the  young 
people  of  the  country.  In  this  relationship  both  its 
efficiency  and  its  economy  will  be  best  served.  The 
county  superintendent  of  schools  seems  to  be  the  most 
logical  officer  to  direct  and  supervise,  in  a  general  way, 
club  activities  for  educational  purposes;  while  the  direc- 
tion of  the  individual  club  workers  should  be  one  of  the 
duties  of  the  teacher  of  agriculture  in  the  local  school. 

II.  The  Scioto  Com  Club  ^ 

One  of  the  best  typical  agricultural  clubs  I  have  ever 
known  was  developed  by  a  township  superintendent, 

1  See  The  Rural  Educator,  Vol.  I,  pp.  53-56.   The  writer  is  indebted 
to  Mr.  T.  W.  Horton  for  this  sketch. 


158         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION   FOR  TEACHERS 

T.  W.  Horton,  in  one  of  the  hill  counties  of  Ohio.  An 
account  of  this  club  is  here  given  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
be  useful  as  an  object  lesson  for  those  who  desire  in- 
formation and  encouragement  in  forming  and  conduct- 
ing a  similar  organization  in  connection  with  their 
schools. 

The  membership  of  the  Scioto  Corn  Club  reached  a 
few  more  than  one  hundred  from  a  total  enrollment  of 
180  pupils  in  the  township  schools.  A  premium  list, 
with  rules,  was  adopted,  officers  were  chosen,  and  com- 
mittees appointed.  Each  school  was  represented  on  the 
committees,  there  being  seven  rural  schools  in  the 
township,  including  the  one-room,  township  high 
school.  The  farming  land  of  the  township  varies  in 
fertility  from  the  best  bottom  farms  to  the  bare  hiUtops, 
which  are  very  low  in  productiveness.  Nearly  all 
conditions  in  rural  life  are  present,  so  that  the  facilities 
and  materials  for  forming  an  organization  were  no 
more  promising  than  will  be  found  in  any  average 
rural  community  of  the  Middle  West. 

The  preparation  of  pupils  and  patrons  for  the  work 
of  the  club  was  the  first  and  most  important  considera- 
tion. The  means  used  were  such  as  are  at  the  disposal 
of  every  other  rural  school.  In  order  to  cause  the  people 
to  feel  a  community  of  interests,  and  to  invite  their 
cooperation,  central  meetings  of  all  the  schools  were 
occasionally  held  at  which  programs  of  various  kinds 
were  carried  out.  Parents  were  asked  to  visit  the 
high  school  and  listen  to  the  talks  on  agriculture  that 


AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS  159 

were  given  to  the  pupils.  The  pupils  wrote  requests 
for  farm  bulletins  at  the  direction  of  the  teachers  and 
were  furnished  bulletins  setting  forth  the  work  of  the 
com  clubs  in  other  states.  Speakers  were  secured  from 
the  College  of  Agriculture  for  pubUc  meetings.  The 
board  of  education  generously  paid  all  expenses  incident 
to  the  organization  and  also  allowed  the  superintendent 
additional  salary  for  keeping  in  touch  with  the  children 
by  correspondence  and  visits  during  the  summer 
vacation.^  The  vacation  period  was  occupied  by  the 
boys  in  growing  crops  and  poultry.  Some  of  the  girls 
engaged  in  the  same  work  and  succeeded  well.  During 
the  first  two  months  of  school  nature-study  collec- 
tions were  made  and  the  girls  finished  their  needlework 
under  the  direction  of  the  teachers  and  parents.  The 
girls  also  practiced  for  the  baking  contests  at  home. 
This  was  work  they  were  induced  to  do  outside  of  school 
hours;  otherwise  it  would  probably  not  have  been  done. 
The  exhibition  was  held  on  the  last  day  of  October. 
One  hundred  boys  and  girls  made  over  three  hundred 
entries.  The  showing  was  very  creditable  for  the  first 
effort.  The  experience  gained  will  make  each  succeed- 
ing year's  work  more  profitable  and  useful.  A  premium 
had  been  offered  to  the  school  having  the  best  display, 

'  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  the  introduction  of  agriculture  into  the 
rural  and  village  schools  may  lead  to  the  desirability,  if  not  the  neces- 
sity, of  employing  the  teacher  of  agriculture  twelve  months  of  the 
year  instead  of  from  six  to  nine  as  is  now  the  common  practice.  It 
would  be  a  blessing  to  both  the  nation  and  her  teachers,  if  the  pro- 
fession of  teaching  were  placed  on  such  a  financial  basis. 


l6o        AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

SO  that  each  school  had  to  be  provided  with  a  separate 
table  for  its  exhibits.  No  prizes  of  value  were  given 
for  anything.  The  honor  of  being  winner  was  the  only 
inducement  for  contesting,  aside  from  the  practical 
benefit  derived.  Neatly  printed  ribbons  were  given  as 
marks  of  honor.  ^  The  district  supervisor  of  agriculture 
for  the  southwest  district  of  the  state  was  a  visitor  and 
made  an  address.  Two  professors  from  Ohio  State 
University  did  the  judging  and  delivered  addresses. 
A  public  dinner  was  served  by  the  ladies  of  the  town- 
ship, thus  affording  the  people  an  hour  of  pleasant 
social  intercourse. 

A  very  noticeable  result  of  this  work  is  that  more  of 
the  people  are  taking  a  deeper  interest  in  the  schools 
and,  by  request  of  the  patrons  the  organization  has 
been  continued.  Boys  are  interesting  themselves  in 
farm  work  who  never  before  showed  any  inclination 
to  do  so.  The  idea  is  keeping  the  boys  on  the  farm  and 
eventually  there  may  be  no  necessity  for  the  cry, 
"Back  to  the  farm."  A  feeling  of  loyalty  to  the  schools 
on  the  part  of  pupils  and  teachers  has  been  created  and 

1  The  educational  expediency  of  giving  prizes  at  the  various  kinds  of 
agricultural,  domestic  science,  and  industrial  exhibits  is  very  seriously 
questioned.  The  resulting  ideals  that  frequently  become  fixed  in  the 
life  of  a  child  from  competing  for  some  economic  object  may  lead  to 
the  placing  of  erroneous  values  upon  the  activities  of  life.  Doubt  has 
been  expressed  as  to  the  successful  issue  of  industrial  contests  by 
school  children  without  the  offering  of  valuable  prizes.  Supt.  Horton 
has  shown  that  it  can  be  done.  It  is  hoped  that  all  others  wiU  foUow 
his  example. 


An  Oregon  boy  who 
raised  eleven  and  a 
half  bushels  of  pota- 
toes from  one  seed  po- 
tato in  one  season  and 
was  awarded  the  prize 
in  the  state  potato- 
growing  contest. 


The  winner  of  the 
first  prize  in  the  bushel, 
single-ear,  and  ten-ear 
corn  contest  in  a  county 
of  Indiana. 


WHAT  BOYS  ARE  DOING  FOR  AGRICULTURE 


AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS  l6i 

the  schools  are  becoming  what  they  ought  to  be — the 
social  centers  of  the  community.  Added  dignity  has 
been  given  to  farm  and  home  work  in  the  eyes  of  the 
boys  and  girls.  If  the  exhibit  of  a  child's  work  is  worthy 
of  the  attention  of  his  neighbors  and  friends,  he  thinks 
the  work  of  producing  it  is  a  worthy  thing  for  him  to  do. 

Each  member  of  the  club  reported  his  experiences  to 
the  teachers  and  the  superintendent.  By  this  means 
good  work  in  English  was  secured  which  was  spon- 
taneous and  natural. 

In  organizing  this  kind  of  work,  one  should  have 
a  definite  aim,  a  special  line  of  work  to  develop,  and 
require  that  this  and  no  other  be  done;  otherwise 
the  exhibits  will  be  too  diverse.  Too  great  diversity 
will  create  confusion  and  the  children  will  lose  sight 
of  the  end  to  be  accomplished.  Emphasis  should  be 
put  upon  the  rule  that  a  child  must  not  exhibit  an 
article  that  is  not  a  product  of  his  own  labor.  Require 
each  pupil  to  keep  a  complete  and  continuous  record 
of  his  agricultural  operations.  Give  the  parents  an 
opportunity  to  show  their  own  products,  but  make  their 
exhibition  separate  from  those  of  the  schools.  Although 
some  of  the  things  produced  by  the  members  of  a  club 
may  have  no  commercial  value,  yet  it  may  serve  a 
purpose  from  the  standpoint  of  industrial  education; 
for,  when  we  educate  the  hand,  we  educate  the  mind 
also,  and  a  beginning  must  be  made  somewhere.  A 
child's  efforts  will  be  greater  if  his  finished  work  is  to 
be  placed  on  exhibition.    If  a  superintendent  or  teacher 

AGMC.  EDUC. — II 


l62         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

is  willing  to  do  plenty  of  patient,  earnest  work,  he  will 
find  that  the  children's  agricultural  clubs  afford  a 
splendid  opportunity  to  do  really  constructive  work  in 
creating  school  sentiment.  Instead  of  taking  time  from 
the  regular  school  studies,  it  really  gives  added  force 
to  them,  for  interest  created  in  one  department  is 
contagious  and  will  extend  to  others.  Boys  and  girls 
should  be  so  trained,  and  their  school  life  so  directed, 
that  when  they  leave  school  and  enter  their  chosen 
vocations,  there  will  be  as  Httle  friction  as  possible 
in  the  adjustment  to  their  new  surroundings.  It  is 
quite  apparent  that,  with  agriculture  and  rural  home- 
life  problems  intelhgently  and  carefully  taught  in  the 
schools,  the  country  children  are  coming  into  their 
true  and  rightful  inheritance.^ 

Club  Rides 

1.  All  articles  entered  in  contest  must  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  exhibitor. 

2.  Each  entry  must  be  accompanied  by  a  detailed  record 
of  production. 

3.  Only  ribbon  awards  are  offered;  blue  for  first  and  red 
for  second  on  each  entry. 

4.  Contests  are  only  for  pupils  of schools. 

Other  residents  of  the  township  are  asked  to  make  entries 
at  the  exhibition  in  a  separate  class. 

^  When  one  knows  the  situation  in  Scioto  Township,  where  Superin- 
tendent Horton  is  carrying  forward  this  excellent  work  with  such 
splendid  success,  one  cannot  resist  the  conviction  that  he  is  uncon- 
sciously solving  two  great  problems,  at  least  in  his  own  township, 
that  are  of  special  interest  to  school  teachers.    By  getting  the  patrons 


AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS  163 

5.  Each  pupil  exhibitor  should  write  a  composition  of 
not  less  than  200  nor  more  than  800  words  telling  all  his 
experience  in  production.   A  prize  is  offered  for  the  best  one. 

6.  Schools  will  be  dismissed  the  day  before  the  exhibition 
when  all  articles  except  classes  B  and  G  must  be  entered  and 
arranged. 

7.  Contests  must  be  limited  to  those  articles  mentioned 
in  the  premium  list.  Other  articles  may  be  put  on  tables 
for  show  only. 

8.  Only  one  entry  will  be  allowed  each  person  for  any  one 
premium. 

9.  The  school  committees  are  to  assist  the  judges  when 
making  awards  and  otherwise  help  as  suggested  by  the 
teachers. 

10.  Record  blanks  may  be  secured  from  the  officers  and 
from  the  chairmen  of  the  committees. 

11.  A  premimn  will  be  given  to  the  school  having  the 
best  exhibit. 

12.  There  will  be  three  classes  for  contests  as  follows: 
children  under  ten;  ten  years  and  over;  high  school. 

13.  Each  exhibitor  will  be  given  a  number,  and  this 
number  will  be  placed  on  all  his  exhibits.  No  exhibits  may 
bear  the  names  of  exhibitors. 

I.  Premium  List 

The  following  premium  list  is  meant  merely  as  a 
suggestive  one.     Only  those  things  should  be  listed 

of  his  district  intensely  interested  in  their  schools  by  appealing  to 
them  through  their  own  vocation,  they  are  unwilling  that  he 
should  leave  his  work  there  and  go  elsewhere;  and  thus  it  happens 
that  his  tenure  of  ofl&ce  and  salary  are  more  satisfactorily  arranged. 


1 64 


AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 


that  appeal  to  the  community,  or  upon  which  it  is  de- 
sired to  place  special  emphasis.  For  the  first  year  it  is 
highly  desirable  to  make  the  list  as  short  as  may  be 
consistent  with  the  needs  of  the  schools.  The  list  may 
be  lengthened  as  the  club  gains  in  experience: 

Class  A. — Farm  Crops 


1.  Acre  yield  white  com. 

2.  Acre  yield  yellow  corn. 

3.  One    tenth    acre   white 

corn. 

4.  One  tenth  acre  yellow 

corn. 

10  ears  white  corn. 

10  ears  yellow  com. 

10  ears  white  pop  com. 

10  ears  yellow  pop  corn. 

10  ears  sugar  com. 

Largest  ear  white  corn. 

Largest  ear  yellow  corn. 

Tallest   stalk   of   com. 

Best  yield  bush  beans. 

Best  3deld  pole  beans. 
(Plots  of  beans  to 
contain  150  sq.  ft.) 

Peck  yellow  sweet  pota- 
toes. 


16 


5- 
6. 

7. 
8. 

9- 
10. 
II. 
12. 

13- 
14. 


15 


Peck  white  sweet  pota- 
toes. 
Peck  red  sweet  potatoes. 
Peck  onions. 
Peck  turnips. 
Peck  beets. 
Peck  potatoes. 

22.  Largest  squash. 

23.  Largest    crook-neck 

squash. 
Largest  pumpkin. 
Largest  sunflower. 
Largest  cabbage. 

27.  Best  5  beets. 

28.  Best  5  turnips. 

29.  Best  5  radishes. 

30.  Best  5  mangoes. 

31.  Quart  of  peanuts. 


17 
18 

19 
20 

21 


24 

25 
26 


Class  B.- 

32.  Loaf  white  bread. 

33.  Plate  of  rolls. 


-Culinary  Articles 

34.  Layer  cake. 

35.  Solid  cake. 


AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS 


i6s 


36.  Plate  cookies. 

37.  Best  pie. 


38.  Com  bread. 

39.  Roll  of  butter. 


40.  Peaches. 

41.  Apples. 

42.  Pears. 

43.  Quinces. 

44.  Beets. 

45.  Cucumbers. 

46.  Blackberries. 


Class  C. — Canned  Goods 
(Quart  cans  only.) 

47.  Cherries. 

48.  Grapes. 

49.  Plums. 

50.  Tomatoes. 

51.  Com. 


52.  Beans. 

53.  Glass  of  jelly. 


54.  Plate  5  apples. 

55.  Plate  5  pears. 

56.  Plate  5  quinces. 

57.  Plate  5  peaches. 


Class  D. — Fmits 
58.  Plate 


bunches     of 


5 
grapes. 

59.  Quart  basket  plums. 

60.  Quart   basket   apricots. 


Class  E. — Sewed  Articles 


61.  Gingham  apron. 

62.  Dust  cap. 

63.  White  apron  (embroid- 

ered). 

64.  White  apron  (plain). 

65.  Fancy    apron    (colors). 

66.  Cahco  apron. 

67.  Handkerchief  (plain). 

68.  Handkerchief   (fancy). 

69.  Handkerchief        (hem- 

stitched). 


70.  Doily. 

71.  Stand  cover. 

72.  Pillow  top. 

73.  Quilt  block  (cotton). 

74.  Quilt   block    (wool). 

75.  Doll  dress  (white). 

76.  Doll  dress  (colors). 

77.  Dressed  doll. 

78.  Clothespin  doll. 

79.  Pincushion. 

80.  Towel  (hemstitched). 


l66         AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 


8i.  Bonnet  (colors). 
82.  Bonnet  (white). 
8^.  Hair  receiver. 


84.  Doll  apron. 

85.  Patch. 

86.  Buttonholes. 


Class  F. — Farm  Manual  Training 


87.  Model  sled.  92. 

88.  Model  harrow.  93. 

89.  Model  planker.  94. 

90.  Model  gate.  95. 

91.  Model  poultry  house.  96. 


Model  table. 
Bird  house. 
Seed  collection. 
Wood  collection. 
Leaf  collections. 


Class  G. — Small  Farm  Animals 

102.  Two  goats,  j 

103.  Calf. 
Colt. 


97.  Trio  of  chickens. 

98.  Trio  of  ducks. 

99.  Pair  Belgian  hares.  104. 
100.  Two  pigs.  105. 
loi.  Two  sheep.                      106. 


Dog. 
Cat. 


II.  Vegetable  Record 


Name  of  Club 


Name  of  contestant. 
Address 


Preparation  of  seed  bed. 
Kind  of  soil 


.Area  of  plot. 


Kind  of  vegetables 

Where  was  seed  obtained?. 

Kind  of  fertilizer 

Date  of  planting 

Depth  planted 


Date  plants  appeared  above  ground. 


AGRICULTURAL  CLUBS  167 

Dates  of  cultivation,  how  and  why 

Date  of  harvesting 

Quantity  (by  weight)  harvested 

Signed  by  witness,  outside  of  family,  who  can  say  that  the 

crop  was  produced  and  harvested  by  contestant. 

Name Address . 


Pres. 


Sec'y. 


in.  A  Short  List  of  Helpful  Books 

"Boys'  Agricultural  Clubs,"  by  Dick  J.  Crosby.  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture  Year  Book  for  1904,  pp.  489-496. 

"Boys'  and  Girls'  Agricultural  Clubs,"  by  F.  W.  Howe, 
Farmers'  Bulletin  j8j,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  igio. 

"Elementary  Agriculture  and  Industrial  Clubs,"  by 
H.  W.  Foght,  Chapter  XI,  in  his  The  Rural  School.  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1910. 

"Boys'  Agricultural  Clubs,"  by  B.  M.  Davis,  Chapter 
XII  in  his  Agricultural  Education  in  the  Public  Schools. 
The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  191 2. 

The  Rural  Educator  (Columbus,  Ohio).  See  index  to 
volumes. 

Review  of  Chapter  XIV 

Answer  these  queries — 

Of  what  benefit  are  boys'  and  girls'  clubs?  Define  boys' 
and  girls'  clubs.  What  are  their  acknowledged  purposes? 
What  are  their  chief  promoting  agencies?  What  of  their 
relations  to  the  pubUc  schools?    Under  what  conditions  was 


l68        AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

the  Scioto  Corn  Club  organized?  How  were  the  pupils 
and  the  patrons  prepared  for  the  work  of  the  club?  How 
was  the  exhibition  conducted?  What  do  you  think  of  the 
educational  expediency  of  offering  valuable  prizes  at  con- 
tests? What  are  some  of  the  important  considerations  to  be 
kept  in  mind  in  organizing  club  work?  How  may  club 
work  aid  in  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  salary  and  tenure 
of  office  for  teachers? 


INDEX 


Administration  of  agricultural 
education,  58-60. 

^Esthetic  aim  in  nature  study,  70. 

Agencies  for  preparing  teachers, 
36-61. 

Agricultural  college,  failure  of,  21. 

Agricultural  demonstration  field, 
130-147;  arrangement,  135- 
136;  economic  basis,  140-142; 
list  of  exercises,  142-147 ;  man- 
agement, 136-138,  140-141; 
record,  139-140;  size,  135. 

Agricultural  education  adminis- 
tration department,  59-60. 

Agricultural  education  contrib- 
utes to  educational  aims,  82- 
91. 

Agricultural  experience,  value 
of,  99. 

Agricultural  graduates  as  teach- 
ers of  agriculture,  118-119. 

Agricultural  nature  study,  65. 

Agricultural  teachers,  training 
of,  51-61. 

Agricultural  teaching,  synthetic, 
98-99. 

Agricultural  type  habits,  loi- 
104. 

Agriculture,  and  density  of  pop- 
ulation, 12-15;  as  a  means  of 


education,  80-91;  as  a  per- 
manent school  subject,  8-9; 
as  a  pre-vocational  subject, 
111-112;  defined,  79;  double 
sanction  of,  as  school  subject, 
80-81;  judging  educational 
value  of,  81-82. 

Aims  of  education  contributed 
to  by  education  in  agricul- 
ture, 82-91. 

Apparatus,  expense  of,  124-125; 
kind  needed,  124. 

Apprentice  system  inadequate  in 
agricultural  education,  97-98. 

Babcock,  Ernest  B.,  132. 
Bagley,  W.  C,  82,  90. 
Bailey,  Dean  L.  H.,  64,  67,  71, 

95. 

Bawden,  William  T.,  150. 

"Behind-time"  sin,  20-21. 

Benson,  O.  H.,  155, 156. 

Books  on  agricultural  educa- 
tion, 41-42. 

Boys'  and  girls'  agricultural 
clubs,  154-167;  an  example, 
157-167;  defined,  i 54-1 55; 
promoting  agencies,  156-157; 
purposes,  155-156;  references, 
167;  rules,  162-163. 


169 


IJO 


INDEX 


Brains  and  farming,  124-125. 
Bricker,  Garland  A.,  76,  88, 
90,  93,  102,  108,  no,  116. 

Caldwell,  Otis  W.,  72. 

Chinese  agriculture,  11. 

Civilization  and  agriculture,  15. 

College  courses  in  agricultural 
education,  51-61. 

CoMSTocK,  Anna  B.,  73. 

Conservation  of  fertility,  18-20. 

Contests,  awarding  prizes  in,  160; 
premium  list,  163-166;  record, 
166;  rules,  162-163. 

Cooperative  use  of  equipment, 
124-129;  by  high  and  elemen- 
tary schools,  126;  in  different 
subjects,  126-127;  in  rural 
schools,  125;  suggestive  list, 
127-128. 

CoRBETT,  L.  C,  133. 

Coulter  and  Patterson,  65,  66. 

Courses  of  study  for  teachers  of 
agriculture  in  outline,  155-158. 

Crosby,  D.  J.,  81,  167. 

Cultural  aim  in  nature  study,  70. 

Davenport,  Eugene,  12,  79. 
Davis,  B.  M.,  132,  167. 
Demonstration-field    idea,    133- 

135- 
Economic  aim  in  nature  study, 

71. 

Education,  63. 

Educational  Review,  11. 

Elementary  agriculture,  an  an- 
^ogy>  75~76;  and  nature 
study,    62-74;    defined,     79; 


formulating  course  in,  108-110; 
its  field  and  subjects,  93-95; 
its  place  in  the  grades,  95,  106- 
108;  its  rise  as  a  school  subject, 
64-65;  materials  for  study,  76; 
pedagogical  principles  appli- 
cable, in  teaching,  96-97 ;  what 
is  it?    75-79. 

Elementary  science,  66. 

Enthusiasm,  28-29. 

Ethical  aim  of  nature  study,  69. 

Exercises  for  the  demonstration 
field,  142-147. 

Exhibits  of  clubs,  159-160. 

First  aids,  27. 
Fletcher,  A.  G.,  140. 
FoGHT,  H.  W.,  23,  68,  167. 

Galloway,  B.  T.,  13?. 

Gang,  E.,  133. 

General  training  of  teachers  of 

agriculture,  54. 
German  agriculture,  11. 
Gilbert,  J.  P.,  100. 
Greene,  Louise,  132.  -, 

Hall,  G.  Stanley,  100. 

Harmonious  adjustment,  29-30. 

Henderson,  Ernest  N.,  82. 

Herb  ART,  John  F.,  87. 

Hodge,  Clifton  F.,  64,  67,  68, 
69,  71. 

Holtz,  Frederick  L.,  69,  70,  71. 

Home  projects,  147-153;  eco- 
nomic results,  148-149;  list  of, 
149-153- 


INDEX 


171 


Home  study  of  agriculture,  36-37. 
Hopkins,  Cyril  G.,  19. 
HoRTON,  T.  W.,  157,  158,  160, 

162. 
Hour,  scholastic,  defined,  56. 
Howe,  F.  W.,  167. 
Hummel,     Willlvm     G.     and 

Bertha  Royce,  116. 

Industrial  and  vocational  sub- 
jects, a  distinction,  95-96. 

Intensive  agriculture,  10-16;  why 
necessary,  12-14. 

Jackman,  Wilbur  S.,  69,  73. 
Japanese  agriculture,  14-15. 
Jewell,  James  R.,  132. 
Jordan,  W.  H.,  81. 

Kern,  O.  J.,  133. 
King,  F.  H.,  ii. 

Knowledge  aim  in  nature  study, 
71. 

Macfeat,  Minnie,  132. 
McCready,  S.  B.,  132. 
McKenzie,  F.  a.,  15. 
McMuRRAY,  Charles  A.,  68,  70, 

71. 
Mental-discipline  aim  in  nature 

study,  69. 
Meyers,  Ira  B.,  68,  69. 
Minear,  S.  a.,  73. 
Morrill  Act,  21. 
Moving  pictures  in  agricultiural 

teaching,  128-129. 


Nathan,  Stella  and  Miller, 
Caro,  133. 

Nature  study  and  elementary 
agriculture,  methods  com- 
pared, 78-79;  relations  of,  73. 

Nature  study,  as  a  purpose,  69- 
72;  as  a  science,  72-73;  failure 
of,  in  teaching  agriculture,  22; 
its  field,  73;  its  status  in  the 
schools,  62-63;  what  is  it? 
66-73. 

Nature  study  teacher  as  a  teacher 
of  agriculture,  116-118. 

N.  E.  A.  report,  Committee  on 
Industrial  Education,  95-106. 

Nelson  funds,  43-44. 

Newman,  Hugo,  70. 

Nolan,  A.  W.,  78,  153. 

Normal  school  courses  in  agri- 
cultural education,  51-61. 

Observational    aim    in    nature 

study,  70. 
O'Shea,  M.  v.,  82,  88. 
Outline  for  one-year  course  in 

agriculture,  11 2-1 15. 

Pedagogical  problems  in  agricul- 
tural teaching,  93-105. 

Pierce,  John  B.,  132. 

Printed  page,  use  of,  1 21-122. 

Prizes  in  contests,  160. 

Professional  knowledge,  30-31. 

Professional  training  of  agricul- 
tural teachers,  53-54. 

Public  school  agricultiu-e,  suc- 
cess of,  22-23. 


172 


INDEX 


Pure  and  applied  science  methods 
of  approach,  loo-ioi. 

Raymont,  T.,  82. 

Reasons  for  education  in  agricul- 
ture, 7,  10,  17,  20,  21,  23-24. 

Religious  aim  in  nature  study, 
68-69. 

Responsibility  of  teachers,  9, 
15-16. 

Rise  of  popular  education  in 
agriculture,  7-9. 

RuEDiGER,  William  C,  82. 

Rural  Educator,  78,  133,  140,  156, 

157,  167- 
Rural  mindedness,  27-28. 

ScHMUCKER,  Samuel  C,  69. 

School  agriculture,  administra- 
tion and  teaching,  106-123. 

School  garden,  130-132;  list  of 
references  on,  132-133. 

Science,  66. 

Science  teacher  as  a  teacher  of 
agriculture,  119-121. 

Scientific  agriculture,  17-26. 

Scientific-method  aim  in  nature 
study,  71. 

Scioto  Corn  Club,  157-167. 

Scott,  Charles  B.,  66,  68,  71. 

Seasonal  sequence  defined,  1 10, 

Selvig,  C.  G.,  149. 

Sentimental  aim  in  nature  study, 
70. 

SiPE,  Susan  B.,  132. 

Soil  exhaustion,  19-20. 

Soil  fertility,  depletion  of,  18-2O1 


Stead,  Alfred,  14. 
Stimson,  R.  W.,  150. 
Summer  schools,  38-40. 

Teacher  of  agriculture,  115-122. 
Teachers'  extension  schools,  42- 

51- 

Teachers'  institutes,  37;  a  sub- 
stitute for,  48-49. 

Teachers'  meetings,  37-38. 

Teachers'  preparation,  in  con- 
tent and  method,  34-35;  se- 
riousness of,  2>y,  to  teach  agri- 
culture, 32-35;  two  motives 
for,  33-34- 

Teachers,  qualifications  of ,  27-31. 

Teaching,  definite  reactions  to, 
122. 

Technical  training  of  agricul- 
tural teachers,  52-53. 

Textbook,  use  of,  in  teaching 
agriculture,  iio-iii. 

Thorndike,  Edward  L.,  82,  90. 

True,  Dr.  A.  C,  75. 

Unpreparedness  of  teachers  to 
teach  agriculture,  9. 

Unscientific  agriculture  is  waste- 
ful, 17. 

Van  Slyke,  Luaus  L.,  19. 

Warren,  George  F.,  87. 
Wilson,  Mrs.  L.  L.,  70,  71. 

Yamawaki,  Haruki,  14. 


TEXTBOOKS     IN    AGRICULTURE 


BUFFUMAND  DEAVER'S  SIXTY  LESSONS 

IN  AGRICULTURE ^0.60 

^  An  easy  and  interesting  book  for  the  sixth,  seventh  and 
eighth  grades,  covering  such  a  wide  range  of  topics  that  the 
book  is  adapted  to  every  section  of  the  country.  The  treat- 
ment is  by  no  means  technical,  and  consequently  is  suitable 
for  schools  whose  teachers  have  had  no  special  training  in 
agriculture.  The  book  aims  to  present  useful  information, 
which  will  increase  the  efficiency  of  farming  operations  and 
improve  the  general  character  of  farm  life.  Numerous  ques- 
tions and  illustrations  are  included. 

BEXELL  AND  NICHOLS'S  PRINCIPLES  OF 
BOOKKEEPING  AND  FARM  ACCOUNTS 
Textbook,  ^0.65;  Blanks,  ^0.45;  Reference  Book,  ;go.  50 
^  The  first  book  in  its  field  to  teach  a  simple  system 
of  keeping  such  accounts  as  are  of  value  to  farmers.  It  deals 
only  with  the  commodities  and  conditions  of  farming. 
There  are  many  helpful  exercises  and  review  questions.  All 
the  material  used  has  been  tested  both  in  the  classroom  and  on 
the  farm.  In  the  blanks,  the  pupil  is  to  work  out  the  opera- 
tions specified  in  the  textbook.  The  course  is  well  adapted 
for  grammar  grades. 

GOFF  &  MAYNE'S  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF 

AGRICULTURE |o.8o 

^  The  center  of  interest  in  this  textbook  is  the  farm,  its  in- 
dustries, economics,  and  science.  The  pupil  is  taught  the 
reason  for  the  more  important  agricultural  operations,  and  the 
explanations  of  the  phenomena  which  accompany  them.  The 
soil  and  vegetation  are  first  taken  up,  including  such  important 
topics  as  rotation  of  crops,  the  parasites  of  plants,  seed  testing, 
animals  that  destroy  insects,  and  the  improvement  of  plants. 
Then  follow  chapters  on  dairying,  live  stock,  poultry,  bee- 
keeping, and  the  improvement  of  home  and  school  yards. 


AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 

(3'7) 


MAYNE    &    HATCH'S    HIGH 
SCHOOL    AGRICULTURE 

By  D,  D.  MAYNE,  Principal  of  School  of  Agriculture  and 
Professor  of  Agricultural  Pedagogics,  University  of  Min- 
nesota; and  K.  L,  HATCH,  Professor  of  Agricul- 
tural Education,  University  of  Wisconsin. 

$i.oo 


THIS  course  has  a  double  value  for  pupils  in  the  first 
years  of  the  high  school.  On  the  one  hand,  it  puts 
the  study  of  agriculture  on  a  serious  basis  and  teaches 
the  young  beginner  how  he  can  carry  on  the  work  of  a  farm 
most  profitably.  On  the  other  hand,  it  affords  an  interesting 
introduction  to  all  the  natural  sciences,  enabling  the  student  to 
master  certain  definite  principles  of  chemistry,  botany,  and 
zoology,  and  to  understand  their  applications.  A  few  experi- 
ments are  included,  which  may  be  performed  by  the  student 
or  by  the  teacher  before  the  class.  But  the  subject  is  not 
made  ultrascientific,  forcing  the  student  through  the  long 
process  of  laboratory  method  to  rediscover  what  scientists 
have  fully  established. 

^  The  topics  are  taken  up  in  the  text  in  their  logical  order. 
The  treatment  begins  with  an  elementary  agricultural  chem- 
istry, in  which  are  discussed  the  elements  that  are  of  chief 
importance  in  plant  and  animal  Ufe.  Following  in  turn  are 
sections  on  soils  and  fertilizers ;  agricultural  botany ;  economic 
plants,  including  field  and  forage  crops,  fruits  and  vege- 
tables ;  plant  diseases ;  insect  enemies ;  animal  husbandry ;  and 
farm  management. 

^  The  chapter  on  plant  diseases,  by  Dr.  E.  M.  Freeman, 
Professor  of  Botany  and  Vegetable  Pathology,  College  of 
Agriculture,  University  of  Minnesota,  describes  the  various 
fungus  growths  that  injure  crops,  and  suggests  methods  of 
fighting  them.  The  section  on  farm  management  treats  farm- 
ing from  the   modern  standpoint  as  a    business  proposition. 


AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 

(3»4) 


WILKINSON'S    PRACTICAL 
AGRICULTURE 

By  JOHN  W.  WILKINSON,  A.  M.,  Assistant  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Oklahoma  ;  for- 
merly Professor  of  Agriculture  in  Northwestern  Normal 
School,  Alva,  Oklahoma. 

■'      $  1 .00 


A  COMPLETE  and  practical  treatise  suited  for  the  eighth 
grade  of  grammar  schools,  or  for  high  or  normal 
schools.  It  gives  the  pupil  a  definite  technical  training, 
and  fits  him  for  farm  life  in  any  part  of  the  United  States. 
^The  work  takes  up  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Forestry, 
Landscape  Gardening,  Animal  Husbandry,  Stock  Feeding, 
Roads  and  Roadbuilding,  and  Country  Life  Conveniences. 
Air,  light,  water,  and  soil,  the  staple  farm  crops,  fertilizers, 
the  improvement  of  plant  varieties,  and  the  enemies  of  plants, 
are  discussed  in  a  particularly  helpful  manner.  Besides  the 
descriptive  text,  each  chapter  contains  laboratory  exercises, 
questions  on  the  text,  and  references  to  more  exhaustive 
works. 

^  Nearly  one-third  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  topics  which 
relate  to  Civic  Improvement.  This  extension  of  the  field  is 
in  accord  with  the  tendency  in  the  schools  to  broaden  the 
course  in  agriculture  into  a  course  in  farm  citizenship.  It 
corresponds  to  the  incorporation  of  prevention  of  disease  and 
public  health  in  a  course  in  physiology. 

^  In  the  preparation  of  the  book  the  author  has  kept  constantly 
in  mind  the  needs  of  the  student  as  well  as  the  facilities 
at  the  disposal  of  the  teacher  for  making  the  instruction 
practical  and  available.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  exhaust 
the  various  topics  treated,  and  in  every  instance  abundant  lati- 
tude is  given  the  instructor  to  show  his  own  individuality  in 
developing  and  carrying  out  the  ideas  suggested  by  the  text 
in  the  most  helpful  manner. 


AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 

('79) 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FAClLlTv 


lllllllllll 


A     000  645  114     0 


